Vladimir Putin's prize pupil is almost ready: Trump's final exam in authoritarian rule
Chauncey Devega writes in today's Salon. . .
Children imitate their parents and other role models. It is a rare occasion when a parent explicitly says to a child "I am going to teach you today." In that sense, Vladimir Putin is the father and Donald Trump is his fawning, admiring child.
Trump has repeatedly said that he may not respect the outcome of the 2020 presidential election if he loses. Like Putin, China's Xi Jinping, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other authoritarians, Trump is eager to change his country's laws in order to stay in office indefinitely. His interference with the U.S Postal Service in order to sabotage mail-in voting is part of the same strategy.
Acting on Trump's commands, Attorney General William Barr and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf have created a de facto secret police force to be used against the regime's "enemies" — meaning the majority of Americans who do not support Donald Trump.
Trump is reportedly marshaling a force of 50,000 "poll watchers" he hopes to use to harass and intimidate Democratic voters on Election Day. He is using Fox News, the One America News Network, the Sinclair Broadcast Group and (soon) the once-revered Voice of America as his personal mouthpieces and propaganda machines.
In many ways, these final weeks before Election Day are a type of final exam in authoritarianism for Donald Trump and his movement.
https://www.salon.com/2020/08/20/vladimir-putins-prize-pupil-is-almost-ready-trumps-final-exam-in-authoritarian-rule/
I urge you to read the whole article. Some seriously scary shit!