I think it’s safe to say he IS a dictator at this point. He’s running over Congress, the Constitution & any semblance of democracy, & no one is stopping him. In fact, he’s got SCOTUS & a cabal of wealthy extremists & oligarchs backing him up. America is in deep trouble & the media bears a great deal of responsibility for it
He IS a dictator. He demands loyalty and compliance, threatening harm to those who do not obey. This is why the corporate-owned media will not call him a dictator. They are afraid of him. And when fear erases courage, it also erases the truth.
As Mark Jacobs points out, the media has been failing us for years. The idea that we present "just the facts" and let the readers sort it out is nonsense. Republicans have been great at exploiting that media rule, whether it was Willy Horton with Michael Dukakis or Swift Boat with John Kerry. Heck, they even helped out the propaganda campaign that tried to turn Tim Walz's military service into "stolen valor." Yes, the Republicans create these groundless attacks, but they have had willing partners in the mainstream corporate press for many years.
He controls the military, the cops the courts and the Congress - unless enough judges and people in Congress step up. Huey Long on a national scale, as evidenced by the occupation of Washington (as Long did besieging New Orleans in the 1930s) and similar actions or threats elsewhere. Oblivious to the concept of co-equal branches of government and separation of powers as set in the Constitution. Government by omertà and vendetta. Rules are for suckers, nice guys finish last, never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut. Surrounded by sycophants. As Lee Strasberg said as Hyman Roth in The Godfather, Part II, he’s “bigger than U.S. Steel.”
The dictatorship is well established. Everything from taking over the Kennedy Center to giving ICE the growing power of secret police, these are all the actions of a dictator who fears no consequences.
And thanks to SCOTUS, the Constitution means nothing.
To your point “Trump is weaponizing government to settle personal scores and pursue his agenda,” he’s also getting wealthier and therefore more powerful.
But, keep this in mind, it’s not just Trump that’s doing this. There is an evil organization known as The Heritage Foundation behind all of this. And it is supported by tech and energy billionaires, Christian Nationalists and the Federalist Society.
Trump is just the face … the stooge … the useful idiot. If he goes away, all of this fascism stays.
We need to come up with a new name for this theocratic authoritarian nationalist capitalist government. TANC? As in getting run over by one?
Trump campaigned on being a dictator - a president of retribution. His examples of CBS, NPR, VOC, and 60 Minutes are warnings of what happens to them if they cross him.
Oddly, in a press conference last week, he was asked about being a dictator. He said he wasn't and didn't want to be.
Our values shape our politics. Don't vote on emotions. Doing anything with emotions is Illogical and dangerous—vote on solutions, not power. Trump riles up MAGA emotions. He spins anger. He fails to see unintended consequences and denies them when they happen.
Using tariffs to punish nations is a tax on us. My favorite shoe store is raising prices by 60%. It is a high-end store. Many of his shoes are from Israel, Sweden, Germany, and other European countries. Other countries make the best shoes.
Nabbing people off the street because they don't match the white supremacist profile is morally wrong. We are paying other countries on our 'do not travel to' list to take them in. Think about that for a moment. People want migrants to enter the country legally. Instead of "investing" money to create more legal points or entry, which creates jobs, it helps streamline legal immigration so migrants can enter legally. Hiring more ICE agents and opening more hazardous detention centers is a waste of money. Those detention centers are for-profit, meaning wealthy investors are extracting money from our tax dollars. Farms are failing without migrant workers to help with the crops. Migrants come here to work and send money home to their families.
Stores are closing because they can't afford to absorb the tariffs. Stores closing means jobs lost. Retailers are laying off employees because they have raised their prices, resulting in fewer shoppers and lower revenue to pay employees.
Simple: media has been and continues to be complicit in his takeover attempt, a once respected medium for news has abandoned all pretense of fair, unbiased reporting, but amplifies his lies (which are in the tens of thousands) instead any attempt at fact checking. Mainstream media is owned by oligarchs who demand their views be presented as real and factual. There were a number of good reporters at several famous icons who have fled in the face of this takeover because their commitment to truth has no say in headlines or which stories get printed. They are propaganda outlets now and not to be trusted.
He was when he was elected. How does one justify electing someone who claims people are eating cats and dogs and believes a magnet is demagnetized by dropping it in water?
Main stream media is owned by billionaires and major corporations. Why do you think they're complicit? Journalists who remain are trying desperately to hold on to a dying profession. Those who could got out long ago. The few remaining have gone freelance or to independent journalism web sites. And the risks for them are becoming increasingly dangerous for reporting truth to power with minimal support.
The NYT reached an all-time low recently with an on-line headline that stated "empathy" is the key to Trump's supposed negotiating success. This was a Q and A interview with a credible hostage negotiator but also a decades-long pal of Trump. The examples given by the expert of Trump's great use of empathy in negotiations were supposed deals with Macron and Zelensky that DO NOT EXIST. The interview should have included a serious disclaimer or not been published at all.
My hope was (is, if there's still time) that Democrats would stop talking about anything other than saving the country from a dictatorship. If and when that happens, nothing else will matter.
You are so correct, Mark. The whole damn problem is that "(t)he anti-democratic posture of corporate media means that the journalists on the front lines can state the facts only in a piecemeal fashion."
Worse, the abandonment of their true responsibilities by our "free press" is actually serving to embolden Trump and expedite the process of full-blown fascism.
We have to stop this: the Democrats in Congress have to shut down the government at the end of this month. We need mass protests and general strikes on an ongoing basis to bring this regime crashing down.
Here’s a thought. The NYT should publish on its front page - and reference it every story - a “fascism checklist.” Think of it as Al sports media publishing the standings. No brainer.
I think it’s safe to say he IS a dictator at this point. He’s running over Congress, the Constitution & any semblance of democracy, & no one is stopping him. In fact, he’s got SCOTUS & a cabal of wealthy extremists & oligarchs backing him up. America is in deep trouble & the media bears a great deal of responsibility for it
He IS a dictator. He demands loyalty and compliance, threatening harm to those who do not obey. This is why the corporate-owned media will not call him a dictator. They are afraid of him. And when fear erases courage, it also erases the truth.
This is America's tragedy, and America's shame.
As Mark Jacobs points out, the media has been failing us for years. The idea that we present "just the facts" and let the readers sort it out is nonsense. Republicans have been great at exploiting that media rule, whether it was Willy Horton with Michael Dukakis or Swift Boat with John Kerry. Heck, they even helped out the propaganda campaign that tried to turn Tim Walz's military service into "stolen valor." Yes, the Republicans create these groundless attacks, but they have had willing partners in the mainstream corporate press for many years.
Thank you for saying what is obviously happening before our eyes. I wish this wasn't a nearly revolutionary act. But somehow it is.
He controls the military, the cops the courts and the Congress - unless enough judges and people in Congress step up. Huey Long on a national scale, as evidenced by the occupation of Washington (as Long did besieging New Orleans in the 1930s) and similar actions or threats elsewhere. Oblivious to the concept of co-equal branches of government and separation of powers as set in the Constitution. Government by omertà and vendetta. Rules are for suckers, nice guys finish last, never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut. Surrounded by sycophants. As Lee Strasberg said as Hyman Roth in The Godfather, Part II, he’s “bigger than U.S. Steel.”
The dictatorship is well established. Everything from taking over the Kennedy Center to giving ICE the growing power of secret police, these are all the actions of a dictator who fears no consequences.
And thanks to SCOTUS, the Constitution means nothing.
To your point “Trump is weaponizing government to settle personal scores and pursue his agenda,” he’s also getting wealthier and therefore more powerful.
But, keep this in mind, it’s not just Trump that’s doing this. There is an evil organization known as The Heritage Foundation behind all of this. And it is supported by tech and energy billionaires, Christian Nationalists and the Federalist Society.
Trump is just the face … the stooge … the useful idiot. If he goes away, all of this fascism stays.
We need to come up with a new name for this theocratic authoritarian nationalist capitalist government. TANC? As in getting run over by one?
Trump campaigned on being a dictator - a president of retribution. His examples of CBS, NPR, VOC, and 60 Minutes are warnings of what happens to them if they cross him.
Oddly, in a press conference last week, he was asked about being a dictator. He said he wasn't and didn't want to be.
Our values shape our politics. Don't vote on emotions. Doing anything with emotions is Illogical and dangerous—vote on solutions, not power. Trump riles up MAGA emotions. He spins anger. He fails to see unintended consequences and denies them when they happen.
Using tariffs to punish nations is a tax on us. My favorite shoe store is raising prices by 60%. It is a high-end store. Many of his shoes are from Israel, Sweden, Germany, and other European countries. Other countries make the best shoes.
Nabbing people off the street because they don't match the white supremacist profile is morally wrong. We are paying other countries on our 'do not travel to' list to take them in. Think about that for a moment. People want migrants to enter the country legally. Instead of "investing" money to create more legal points or entry, which creates jobs, it helps streamline legal immigration so migrants can enter legally. Hiring more ICE agents and opening more hazardous detention centers is a waste of money. Those detention centers are for-profit, meaning wealthy investors are extracting money from our tax dollars. Farms are failing without migrant workers to help with the crops. Migrants come here to work and send money home to their families.
Stores are closing because they can't afford to absorb the tariffs. Stores closing means jobs lost. Retailers are laying off employees because they have raised their prices, resulting in fewer shoppers and lower revenue to pay employees.
Simple: media has been and continues to be complicit in his takeover attempt, a once respected medium for news has abandoned all pretense of fair, unbiased reporting, but amplifies his lies (which are in the tens of thousands) instead any attempt at fact checking. Mainstream media is owned by oligarchs who demand their views be presented as real and factual. There were a number of good reporters at several famous icons who have fled in the face of this takeover because their commitment to truth has no say in headlines or which stories get printed. They are propaganda outlets now and not to be trusted.
Ah he's not 'becoming a dictator '. He IS a fascist dictator already.
He was when he was elected. How does one justify electing someone who claims people are eating cats and dogs and believes a magnet is demagnetized by dropping it in water?
Main stream media is owned by billionaires and major corporations. Why do you think they're complicit? Journalists who remain are trying desperately to hold on to a dying profession. Those who could got out long ago. The few remaining have gone freelance or to independent journalism web sites. And the risks for them are becoming increasingly dangerous for reporting truth to power with minimal support.
The NYT reached an all-time low recently with an on-line headline that stated "empathy" is the key to Trump's supposed negotiating success. This was a Q and A interview with a credible hostage negotiator but also a decades-long pal of Trump. The examples given by the expert of Trump's great use of empathy in negotiations were supposed deals with Macron and Zelensky that DO NOT EXIST. The interview should have included a serious disclaimer or not been published at all.
My hope was (is, if there's still time) that Democrats would stop talking about anything other than saving the country from a dictatorship. If and when that happens, nothing else will matter.
You are so correct, Mark. The whole damn problem is that "(t)he anti-democratic posture of corporate media means that the journalists on the front lines can state the facts only in a piecemeal fashion."
Worse, the abandonment of their true responsibilities by our "free press" is actually serving to embolden Trump and expedite the process of full-blown fascism.
We have to stop this: the Democrats in Congress have to shut down the government at the end of this month. We need mass protests and general strikes on an ongoing basis to bring this regime crashing down.
For Congress - if you are afraid of losing your job, then it isn't the right job for you.
Here’s a thought. The NYT should publish on its front page - and reference it every story - a “fascism checklist.” Think of it as Al sports media publishing the standings. No brainer.