NY Times, JANUARY 6, 2024
by NY Times Editorial Board
"Mr. Trump does not offer voters anything resembling a normal option of Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, big government or small. He confronts America with a far more fateful choice: between the continuance of the United States as a nation dedicated to “the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” and a man who has proudly shown open disdain for the law and the protections and ideals of the Constitution.”
Robert Reich explains what Trump has done and threatens to do:
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of Strongmen, Mussolini to the Present says Trump appeals to extremists by calling MAGA a 'movement.' Extremists embrace movements, not a political parties.
Donald Trump, Victim King Anand Giridharadas points out that Trump simultaneously wants his followers to believe he's both their strongman savior AND a persecuted victim.
Uses extensive censorship, surveillance, and suppression of dissent, including arbitrary detention of activists and ethnic minorities, strict control over media and online content, and violations of basic human rights.
Heavily censors media, restricts freedom of assembly and expression, intimidates and sometimes kills political opponents, and prosecutes activists and journalists critical of the government.
Heavily censors media, monitors online activities, and imposes limitations on political dissent, leading to the arrest and imprisonment of activists, journalists, and individuals expressing views contrary to the state's narrative.
Extreme state control, pervasive surveillance, and harsh punishments for dissent, resulting in a lack of basic freedoms, widespread poverty, and a cult of personality centered around the ruling Kim dynasty.
Strict religious laws, limited political freedoms, and systematic discrimination against women, religious minorities, and dissenters, often resulting in arbitrary arrests, harsh punishments, and restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.