America, wake up and smell the covfefe

In 1787, eleven years after the American colonies declared their freedom from England’s King George III, Benjamin Franklin was asked, “Well, Doctor what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” He answered, “A republic, if you can keep it.” 

Now, nine years after the wannabe king, Donald Trump, glided down the escalator like a prowling vulture descending at the sight of wounded prey — in this case, American democracy — I ask you the same question. If Trump wins a second term, what will we have? A republic or a monarchy?  

Trump admires strongmen like Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un and others who oppress their citizens forcing them to live a life where personal liberties are prohibited, a free press is a crime and the disappearance, false imprisonment, torture and murder of dissidents is common.  

The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, who supports Russia and endorsed Trump and according to an Associated Press report is alleged to have “rolled back minority rights, seized control of the judiciary and media and manipulated the country’s election system to remain in power,” visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago in March and again on July 11. Did Trump violate the Logan Act during these visits? 

And right here at home, North Carolina GOP gubernatorial candidate Lt. Governor Mark Robinson, whom Trump endorsed, spoke to the congregation at Lake Church in June where he declared “some folks need killing,” appearing to justify violence against liberals.  

And Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, the think tank behind “Project 2025,” which promotes a series of conservative policy platforms and sweeping power for the executive branch in a Trump presidency, stated on July 2, “we are in the process of the second American revolution which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”

Washington State Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said, “Project 2025 is Donald Trump’s blueprint for destroying our democracy.”

During a Dec. 5 interview of the former president, Sean Hannity asked Trump, “Are you promising America tonight you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody”? Trump responded saying, “except for day one” to applause from the crowd. Then referring to Hannity, Trump said, “We love this guy, he says you’re not going to be a dictator, are you?”  

Hannity, though, didn’t use the word dictator.  It’s telling that Trump rephrased the question. 

Trump gradually eased his adherents into authoritarianism by demystifying the idea of dictatorship. And based on the applause he received it appears his scheme is working and indicative that some Trump acolytes, like Trump himself, also admire the world’s strongmen and welcome a dictator in America while many other followers lack the insight and judiciousness to discern Trump’s machinations. 

His insidious plan all along was to gently plant a tyrannical seed and see if it would take root and produce a harvest of fascist sympathizers. It has. 

There is no such thing as a dictator for one day. As we have seen, Trump has no qualms about violating the law and disregarding the Constitution while the MAGA base gives him a perpetual pass, ignoring his criminality and overlooking his moral turpitude while Republicans enable his corruption and condone his disloyalty to America only to be outdone by the seeming helping hand of the Supreme Court. 

Trump clearly sided with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki against America for the world to see, was impeached for his role in the January 6 insurrection at the nation’s Capitol and later indicted for election interference due to his attempts to stop the transfer of power.  

Trump has admitted he would weaponize the Justice Department to go after his enemies musing, “if I see somebody who’s beating me very badly, I say go down and indict them.” Trump’s own words foreshadow his dictatorial intention to prosecute political rivals without legal justification, just as Putin regularly does.   

For almost a decade, Trump has been deriding the news media as the “enemy of the people” and posted on social media that “licenses must be challenged and if appropriate, revoked.”  

A free press is the first line of defense against a tyrannical government. 

Trump adherents believe his propaganda, support his authoritarian dream and see him as the solution to America’s problems. At a rally, he stated, “if you rob a store you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store.” And according to former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Trump suggested shooting protesters outside the White House asking, “Can’t you just shoot them?” In April, Trump called illegal immigrants “animals” saying “they’re not human” and said the 2024 election is America’s “final battle."

Dehumanizing the opposition is a Trump strategy. It makes them easier to hate. Trump has pledged to “root out ... the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country."

Will you be rooted out next? 

In Tennessee on Feb. 26, Trump communicated his ultimate projection saying, “it’s the people from within our country that are more dangerous than the people outside.... They’re very sick people.”

After finagling his way to the presidency in 2016, Trump is similarly maneuvering to a second term. And despite all his authoritarian aspirations, the biting MAGA shoal ravenously feast on his buffet of lies, propaganda and antidemocratic rhetoric. The fish see and pursue the bait but don’t recognize the hook.

Make America great again is the bait; Trump’s monarchist yearning is the hook.

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