The Autocracy

When a conservative Republican strongly criticizes Donald Trump, I pay attention. It's to be expected that left-of-center politicians and pundits will devalue the President, but when the words come from someone on the same side as Trump, then you know something is wrong and you should listen.

Conservative David Frum served as a speechwriter for George W. Bush. He's no liberal. Yet he's been unsparing in his criticism of Trump, painting him as dangerous and undemocratic.

Frum has written an excellent essay in the March 2017 issue of The Atlantic magazine (link here) with the title "How to Build an Autocracy" and the subtitle "The preconditions are present in the U.S. today. Here’s the playbook Donald Trump could use to set the country down a path toward illiberalism."

I highly recommend everyone read this piece, Americans and international readers alike.

The article was written after Trump was elected and before he was inaugurated, but some of the warnings Frum sounded have already come true. The writer is a brilliant observer of the current White House occupant, and this is one of the best pieces I've read that both analyzes Trump and also qualifies and quantifies the inherent dangers of his presidency.

Trump will not be another Hitler. No one will ever be for reasons Frum makes clear. But Trump could very well end up another autocrat like Vladimir Putin or Viktor Orbán, the current prime minister of Hungary.

LGBT citizens and residents are at greater risk in an autocratic America, as are all other minorities. An autocrat won't hesitate to stigmatize and penalize and marginalize people like us if the ends serve his means.