In American politics this week, people have been talking a lot about dictatorship, or the possibility of it happening.
Donald Trump is getting closer to being chosen as the Republican presidential candidate. People who disagree with him are criticizing him more.
Neoconservative writer Robert Kagan wrote an essay in the Washington Post saying that the chances of the United States becoming a dictatorship have increased a lot. Former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, who has been critical of Mr. Trump, said on CBS that the US is heading towards a dictatorship without realizing it.
The old president ignored these warnings and called them more proof of people being obsessed with criticizing Trump.
Then, during a meeting in Iowa on Tuesday night, Trump, who often speaks highly of powerful leaders like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, made the situation worse by behaving recklessly.
Some US news headlines said that Trump made his critics’ worst fears seem true. They were worried he would become a “dictator” if he got re-elected as US president.
But, the trade was more complicated than that.
Fox News host Sean Hannity tried to get the ex-president to say he won’t use his power to hurt his enemies if he gets elected again next year. Trump has hinted at this in the past.
“Are you promising America tonight that you won’t use your power to get back at anyone. ” Hannity asked
“Other than the first day” of his next term in office.
He said he will take action by himself to make the border safe and to get more energy out of the ground. He will also do more drilling for energy, as Trump said.
“He said he’s not a dictator after that. ”
These incomplete promises haven’t made Trump’s critics feel any better.
They believe that democracy will face challenges in a second term because there will be fewer protections in place.
They say the ex-president has talked about using the justice department as a weapon and replacing civil servants with loyal supporters. And they say this time he won’t have people in his group who will disagree with the extreme ideas.
A Trump political action committee (PAC) said the real person with a lot of power is in the White House now.
“Joe Biden is using his power to go after journalists, politicians, activists, and worried parents,” Make America Great Again Inc said in an email on Wednesday.
One of Trump’s opponents, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, told the BBC that a second term for Trump could be dangerously controlling, even though Trump may not openly admit to being a dictator.
Hutchinson says that when an authoritarian president takes more power and ignores Congress and the court, it means that all the power is held by one part of the government. “Our country wasn’t meant to be run like this, and it’s too controlled by one person. ”
This is what Hutchinson said next, and it might worry Joe Biden’s campaign for president. If Trump and Biden are the main candidates in 2024, the former Arkansas governor would search for a different choice.
“I won’t choose Biden over Trump,” Hutchinson said. I will find other ways to help if that happens.
In 2020 and at the start of his 2024 campaign, Biden wanted to appeal to Republicans who were unhappy, as well as people who are not affiliated with any political party, and his own party members.
However, even though there are concerns about a possibly controlling candidate in the Republican party – someone who doesn’t take the term dictator seriously – Hutchinson still won’t consider supporting the current Democrat in office.
One year before the election, polls may not be very accurate. But the most recent polls show that the race between Trump and Biden will be very tight. And if Hutchinson, who is not a fan of Trump, is looking for someone else to vote for in the presidential election, he is likely not alone.
The new political group No Labels might choose a centrist candidate, and Liz Cheney and others are thinking about running for office on their own. This could give unhappy voters more choices when they vote.
In an election where every vote counts, it’s not a good position for Biden to be in. According to Trump’s strongest critics on the right, it’s a risky situation for the country.
In his essay in the Washington Post, Kagan says that Trump has a good chance of winning the presidency because of support from the Republicans and the mood of the country. He also thinks that Trump would be more dangerous if he became president.
He says Trump and his friends will try to hurt people they don’t like, while many Americans do nothing to stop them.
Many Americans, including a lot of people who support Trump, don’t see it that way, of course. And in November, most people might vote for the previous president again, even though experts like Kagan have advised against it.
It’s starting to become clear that Biden and the Democrats will say this election is about protecting democracy. Trump is trying to provoke them with his strong and forceful language, whether he is joking or being serious.