Published Aug 3, 2026, 6:00 AM ET · Updated 3 months ago · 1 source

Are Trump’s most blatant authoritarian moves backfiring?

guardian
guardian
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Original Report
INFERY
Are Trump’s most blatant authoritarian moves backfiring?

T he pattern is by now all too familiar: with every power grab Trump tries – from a fraudulent speech about voter fraud to appeals to his supreme court to let him rig the midterms – a debate kicks off about whether these moves are signs of strength or of desperation. Maybe we keep getting caught in this debate because the question is badly posed. So much of what is distinctive about Trump’s governance during his second term can serve the consolidation of an autocratic regime and at the same time