Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick. . .

"I Alone Can Fix It"

At a recent rally, Donald Trump used language in a speech that echoed Adolf Hitler, comparing his political opponents to "vermin."

(vermin: "people perceived as despicable and as causing problems for the rest of society.")

"We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country," he told a New Hampshire crowd.

Authoritarian rhetoric has been central to Trump's political trajectory -  and his time as president. Ruth Ben Ghiat, professor of history at New York University and author of the book "Strongman," defines authoritarian this way:

"It's when the executive branch and the leader find ways to take away checks and balances," she said, "So they have a degree of power that they don't have in a democracy, and they find ways to take away the independence of the legislature and the independence of the judiciary."

Authoritarianism, in fact, has been found to be key to Trump's political success. It was key to it was the greatest predictor of support for Trump in that Republican primary.

Trump sees a need to get people to feel they have an existential threat facing them, and the more they feel uncertain and fearful, the more the strongmen can appear and say, "I alone can fix it!"

Of course, this strongman can't fix anything - except his own personal bank account!

What are you doing on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024?