One of the Trump-Project 2025’s primary goals is centralization of power under the executive (president). The alleged purpose is to streamline decision-making, reduce inefficiencies, and ensure Trump can implement his extremist agenda more effectively. However, the concentration of power in the Oval Office will likely pave the way for authoritarian rule, where Trump and his sycophants are allowed to operate without accountability or oversight.
We’ve been here before, but we may not have learned our lesson. There are historical parallels with a Trumpian authoritarian regime and consolidation of power:
1. In Nazi Germany, Hitler rose to power through systematic dismantling of democratic institutions and centralization of power in an authoritarian ruler. After being appointed Chancellor in 1933, Hitler quickly moved to consolidate his power. The Reichstag Fire in February 1933 allowed him to push the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended civil liberties and allowed for the arrest of political opponents. The Enabling Act, passed in March 1933, gave Hitler the authority to enact laws without the Reichstag, effectively giving him dictatorial powers. As a result, Hitler dismantled the democratic Weimar Republic, established a totalitarian regime, banned opposition parties, and purged political opponents through events such as the Night of the Long Knives.
2. Italy’s Benito Mussolini was appointed Prime Minister in 1922. He gradually eroded democratic institutions by using violence and intimidation against political opponents and consolidating his power through the Acerbo Law (1923), which guaranteed a two-thirds majority to the largest party, and the establishment of a dictatorship by 1925. Mussolini abolished the parliamentary system, suppressed free press, and established a one-party state under his Fascist Party.
3. In the Soviet Union, Stalin centralized power in the Communist party and eliminated political opposition, through purges, show trials, and suppression of dissent.
4. China’s Mao Zedong centralized power and eliminated his political rivals through control of the Chinese Communist party. The resulting cultural revolution further consolidated his power and led to significant political and social upheaval.
5. Hugo Chavez of Venezuela used his centralized power to undermine democratic institutions and reduce the independence of the judiciary and legislature.
6. Russia’s Vladimir Putin has maintained control over Russia since 2000, alternating between President and Prime Minister. He has centralized power by amending the constitution to extend presidential terms, eliminating regional elections, and asserting control over the media and judiciary. Under Putin, political opposition has been marginalized, and there have been numerous instances of electoral manipulation, suppression of protests, and the persecution of political adversaries.
7. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey, initially as Prime Minister and later as President, has increasingly consolidated power. Key moments include the 2017 constitutional referendum, which transformed Turkey from a parliamentary to a presidential system, significantly enhancing the powers of the presidency. Erdoğan's government has been accused of undermining judicial independence, suppressing media freedom, and conducting purges of military, judicial, and educational institutions, especially following the 2016 failed coup attempt.
8. Viktor Orban of Hungary has been working to centralize power in the executive branch, undermining the independence of the judiciary and effectiveness of the parliament in providing oversight.
9. Venezuela’s current leader, Nicolás Maduro, has maintained control through controversial elections and has centralized power by creating the Constituent Assembly in 2017, which bypassed the opposition-controlled National Assembly. His government has been criticized for undermining democratic institutions, eroding judicial independence, restricting press freedoms, and using security forces to suppress political dissent.
These and other historical examples illustrate a common pattern where leaders erode democratic norms by centralizing executive power, undermining the judiciary and legislature, suppressing dissent, and manipulating legal frameworks to maintain control. Project 2025 and Trump 47 advocate these and many other threats to our nation.
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