Trump, Democratic Dictator

Africa

I have spent a lot of time in Africa. I have seen dictators at work. They are characterized by:

- They usually take power by a coup d'etat (but not always).

- At the beginning of their reign they make wonderful promises to all.

- With time these dictators surround themselves with a group of sycophants. These surrounding henchmen (they are usually all men) share in the power and perks of office. They also make it difficult to remove the dictator.


- With the passage of time, pressure mounts to get rid of the dictator. The dictator and his support group, who more and more benefit from the fruits of their position, work constantly to remain in power.

- Finally the end of the dictatorship comes, either by another violent coup, electoral change through massive public pressure or possibly by the death of the dictator.

USA

Now, no doubt you will say, this could not happen in America. However, there are some distinct similarities. 

- Donald Trump came to power by an electoral coup. In a fluke of history, he became president by the strange workings of the electoral college.

- He made numerous promises to Americans, especially to the marginalized and neglected segments of society. The fact that he was not part of that class of society was immaterial. Foreign dictators, making promises are often not part of the oppressed peoples either.

- Donald Trump has surrounded himself with a group of sycophants who share his view of the world – business oriented billionaires, radical government deregulators and committed climate change deniers. He has the authority to fire any of them at will. Therefore it is unlikely that they will oppose him. Their power and position depends directly on him. This of course is true of all cabinet choices of a president in the USA, but the scope of Trump’s anti-social interests and business style of management makes him distinctly different among all recent US presidents.

- The end of this dictatorship in America should come to a different end than most African dictatorships. There is a system in place of checks and balances between the three levels of government; legislative, executive and judicial. Whether the system holds and is truly effective as the founding fathers of the US envisioned is yet to be seen. Rarely has the system been challenged in such a way before.