As Trump hosts Viktor Orban of Hungary at Mar-A-Lago, he indicates the direction he wants America to take and refine a blueprint of how he can, too, become a dictator, America should be aware of what a Trump-Orban mode of governance would mean. John Bolton on MSNBC on March 8, 2024 said his greatest danger was his damage to NATO and holding up Finland and Sweden's admission to NATO. (Both are now bonafide members and Sweden joined March 7 ). He condemned Orban for betraying the 1956 Hungarian revolution, a revolt put down by Russia against their rule with tanks and bloodshed, because of Orban's current coziness with Putin and Russia, while being a member of NATO. (Bolton: Former UN Ambassador and National SecurityAgency advisor to President Trump) https://www.britannica.com/event/Hungarian-Revolution-1956/additional-info#history
Orban was tagged as a neo-fascist by the late secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, who knew one when she saw it because she experienced it firsthand. If you are one of Trump's devoted followers, no wonder you would honor Orban. He points the way to turn theories into reality. If you are not, be very afraid because this is Trump's vision for America. Say goodbye to freedom of the press, respect for minorities and their civil rights, and any control of corporate corruption. It would mean there would be complete control of all branches of government, both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the executive/justice branch, and the conduction of elections. Loyalty would be demanded to the President and not to the rule of law as a condition of employment or appointment in government.
In 2022, Orban was reelected to his 4th term in elections the EU observers reported were marred by the "pervasive overlapping of government and ruling coalition’s messaging that blurred the line between state and party, as well as by media bias and opaque campaign funding." Human Rights Watch stated that the election was "marred by serious concerns about its fairness," adding that the "EU has responded insufficiently to the hollowing out of democracy and the rule of law in Hungary,"[ while Freedom House described the election as neither free nor fair.["
Orban gradually consolidated his power peacefully and he had one advantage: citizens who were 97% percent of his same ethnic identification. That is not America. To say there would be chaos is an understatement if he tried the same techniques as Orban did. Trump has added one element to amassing power that Orban did not need to use: violence and the threat of violence. It worked in Colorado to cause many county clerk election officials to resign, and some were replaced by Trump loyalists. It worked in Georgia to intimidate election official witnesses. He attempted to use active military to put down civil protests and to give him legal cover in his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. He invited and exhorted violent militia members on January 6. Only Gen. Milley, the threat of resignation of nearly all of the top brass of the DOJ, and the bravery of Capitol and DC police stood in his way. He would make sure those who were more loyal to the rule of law than to him would not be his appointees in a second term. https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/newsRoom/pressReleases/2023/PR20230503Elections.html
The way Trump's government in exile in Mar-A-Lago operates now is an example of how he would like to govern in a second term and expand his power over the rest of the federal government. The past and current happenings would be extended to what he would dominate that is not already under his control. By using fear of primaries and tolerance and even exhortation of threats of violence against the disloyal and party discipline he already controls the House. Using appointment powers when he once was in power, he now controls the Supreme Court which has consistently ruled to favor his political strategies.
In a second term, among the tools at Trump's disposal would be the DOJ's federal control of the voting process with threats of prosecution or favoritism not to prosecute that would be used to overturn elections or would further destroy voters' confidence in the integrity of the process as it was administered by loyalists..The Supreme Court has consistently ruled to favor his political strategies, subverting voting rights laws, patting on the back partisan gerrymandering, and yanking from women their rights to control their own health care. Now, his appointed majority in the Supreme Court is slow-walking decisions that would give Trump an advantage to avoid criminal court appearances before the next election. His main tool to convince his loyal followers to go along is similar to the one Orban used to become the dictator of Hungary, racist fear of Syrian immigrants adulterating the Magyar blood. and fear of replacement by them.
From my May 2022 posting:
Such wide acceptance of replacement theory is becoming a threat to democracy itself. This embrace of Viktor Orban of similar racist policies of anti-immigration and Hungarian ethnic domination also brings with it an association with autocracy as a preferred method of governance instead of democracy. FOX's Tucker Carlson's enthusiasm for the autocratic ruler of Hungary inspired the US conservative pac, CPAC to hold a conference in Hungary and plans more. Hungary's Orban opens CPAC by telling conservatives "we need to coordinate the movement" of allies - CBS News Tread lightly, CPAC. You, too, will find yourself with not only the racist, anti-semitic white nationalism that is Orban's but saddled with his method of governing, which means no press freedom ( or press only permitted that is approved by Orban) and what we would consider in the US, a corrupt alliance between big business and government with rewards going to friends of Orban. An independent judiciary no longer exists. Hungary is not like the US. Orban could be as racist and nationalist as he liked since 97% of the country is Magyar (Hungarian) and speaks Hungarian. There are no large groups of minorities. That is not the US now and in the future. Takeover by someone like Orban appealing to white nationalists has not been. would not be, and will not be a peaceful process. For US white nationalists, Hungary is a fantasyland. The late Madeleine Albright, our beloved former secretary of state, tagged Orban as a fascist in her best-selling book, Fascism: A Warning "in 2018 mostly because of his racism and his opposition to "liberal democracy".
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