Do not be so sure if the election will be decided on the issue of democracy v autocracy or democracy vs. dictatorship. Yes, democracy will be on the ballot in November, but it is not a given. It will succeed as the determining issue in November. Using the term "autocracy" only describes degrees, a range of rules by a person instead of the rule of law. It is a weak term that needs to be replaced by what Trump has already publicly promised if he is elected in November: a "dictatorship." Even then, Trump has made the term "dictatorship" into a positive for his followers' benefit, not one to be afraid of, because it will "get their stuff done."His lulling words it is only "dictatorship for a day." Only fools believe that. That is all he needs to get the ball rolling for becoming a dictator quickly and, in the transition, throw this country into destabilizing chaos and uncertainty until he consolidates the power in lusts in his own hands. The April 27 white house correspondents' dinner dramatized the importance of the freedom of the press. (more below).
What is not clear is whether American voters understand there is a link between "blanket immunity" and the continuation of democracy, the issue before the Trump-dominated Supreme Court. Trump wants the power not only to get himself out of the January 6 criminal case filed by DOJ special counsel Jack Smith but to give him the power to become a dictator, a get-out-of-jail card, able to ignore any threat of criminal prosecution for breaking laws, as he assembles dictatorial powers for himself. If he can even get the Court to decide he can break laws if it is in his "official duties" capacity, as Trump's loyalists on the Supreme Court are arguing, he is well on his way to claiming any action he performs is official and throwing the US into chaos as this claim is challenged in federal courts and make its way through the judicial appeal system to his Trmmp Supreme Court. How do we know that will happen? It is happening now, and Trump is not even back in the Oval Office.
In December, a YouGov poll revealed that when asked if they supported a dictatorship over democracy, the result was that only a small percentage agreed with having a dictatorship. https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/48238-most-americans-support-democracy-and-oppose-dictatorship However, by February, Trump embraced the concept of being a dictator and his loyalists fell in line. Trump's own promise he "would be a dictatorship for a day" was ok for 3/4 of those who identified themselves as Republicans. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4453457-74-percent-of-republicans-say-its-fine-for-trump-to-be-dictator-for-a-day/
What a bunch of fools If Trump had immunity from committing crimes, he could run rampant over existing laws that restrict presidential power, from bribery to assassination of rivals to oppressing press freedom to putting down any peaceful protests and gatherings. In one day, he could sign the documents already prepared by the Heritage Foundation to allow him to fire thousands of federal employees and replace them with his loyalists, as well as replace those heading regulatory agencies with his sycophants such as licensing media outlets and protect consumers from environmental catastrophes, dangerous products, unfair business practices, and loan sharks. withdraw the US from NATO and throw the economy into a tailspin by sabotaging the only institution that could control inflation, the Federal Reserve. He has already promised to do all of this. and the Heritage Foundation, with millions in the bank, is already at work lining up those replacement loyalists to Trump. The lists will be ready to go on day one. With a Trump Supreme Court, forget the guardrails of the justice system, and with such power of appointments, a jubilant business community and any GOP opposition to Trump will be hailing "the boss" if they want to have any political power. The raised clenched fist palms forward will be the 2025 version of the old nazi salute. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gestures#:~:text=Clenched%20fist%20is%20used%20as,%2C%20%22a%20thumping%22).
The April 27 white house correspondents' dinner dramatized the importance of the freedom of the press. In Trump's dictatorship, it is already stated by him as a promise to eliminate opposition press as treasonists.. In a post on his Truth Social platform in September, Trump repeated both phrases and vowed to investigate NBC News and MSNBC for “Country Threatening Treason” and try to curb their access to the airwaves.“I say up front, openly, and proudly, that when I WIN the Presidency of the United States, they and others of the LameStream Media will be thoroughly scrutinized for their knowingly dishonest and corrupt coverage of people, things, and events,” Trump said in the post. “Why should NBC, or any other of the corrupt & dishonest media companies, be entitled to use the very valuable Airwaves of the USA, FREE? They are a true threat to Democracy and are, in fact, THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE! The Fake News Media should pay a big price for what they have done to our once great Country.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/25/trump-nbc-msnbc-comcast-country-threatening-treason He could do this by controlling the Department of Justice to selectively prosecute opposition press and delicensing opposition media,, and using his flunkies running the Federal Communications Commission. Trump may be a proven liar, but he has always been upfront about what he promises he will do, can effectively keep his promises, even without blanket immunity for breaking criminal laws, and if elected again, he has the power to get it done. If he controls the Supreme Court, as he already seems to do, legal action to protect First Amendment rights would have a rough go. His MAGA supporters would love to muzzle opposition. So what about the rest of us who do not rely on FOX News?
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