I think this statement is highly misleading. First, I think compared to most other fora and groups, this Forum is decidedly not catastrophizing Trump.
On a relative basis to other left-wing places, the forum is not catastrophizing Trump. I should have said that this post is catastrophizing Trump and is only getting the upvotes (at the time I posted, it was all upvotes and āagreeā reacts), because of the forumās political bias.
Second, if you donāt see āany evidence of an authoritarian takeoverā then you are clearly not paying very much attention.
Again, I should be more precise but this is a misinterpretation I think. There is always evidence of authoritarian takeover by any President. Every President does things that are supposed to be done through Congress (for example, most military action). I agree that Trump has more authoritarian impulses than most but this is not nearly clearing the bar for, as the author says, āThe current US administration is attempting an authoritarian takeover.ā. Thatās a very strong statement and the evidence doesnāt back that up. Itās hyperbolic.
For the record, by authoritarian takeover I mean a gradual process aiming for a situation like Hungary (which theyāve frequently cited as their inspiration and something to aspire to). Given that Trump has tried to orchestrate a coup the last time he was in office, I donāt think itās a hyperbolic claim to say heās trying again this time. Iām also not making any claims about the likelihood of success.
is only getting the upvotes (at the time I posted, it was all upvotes and āagreeā reacts), because of the forumās political bias.
I think this is very uncharitable to other Forum users. (Unless you meant āis getting only upvotes [..]ā)
I was mostly objecting to your statement of āseeing no sign of authoritarian takeoverā, I do agree and mentioned in my comment that Siebeās statement was possibly too definite.
But I donāt think it is hyperbolic to say that there are many signs of Trumpās authoritarianism and signs consistent with an attempted authoritarian takeover and that this is qualitatively different than what we have seen from any other President in recent history, one has to go back to at least Nixon to get things in the same ballpark (and Nixon was arguably a lot more constrained by his own party than Trump is right now).
The examples you are citing āPresidents doing things that should be done through Congressā are not examples of authoritarian behavior and pretending that what Trump is doing is part of the regular testing of executive authority is also quite misleading.
Which other recent Administration was headed by someone denying a legitimate election result? Which other recent Administration had a VP flirting with the idea of not honoring Supreme Court rulings? Which other recent Administration was systematically invested in fighting against civil society institutions and law firms? Which other Administration has had so many people warning about authoritarian tendencies, both from their own party and from key senior staff from their own first administration?
On a relative basis to other left-wing places, the forum is not catastrophizing Trump. I should have said that this post is catastrophizing Trump and is only getting the upvotes (at the time I posted, it was all upvotes and āagreeā reacts), because of the forumās political bias.
Again, I should be more precise but this is a misinterpretation I think. There is always evidence of authoritarian takeover by any President. Every President does things that are supposed to be done through Congress (for example, most military action). I agree that Trump has more authoritarian impulses than most but this is not nearly clearing the bar for, as the author says, āThe current US administration is attempting an authoritarian takeover.ā. Thatās a very strong statement and the evidence doesnāt back that up. Itās hyperbolic.
For the record, by authoritarian takeover I mean a gradual process aiming for a situation like Hungary (which theyāve frequently cited as their inspiration and something to aspire to). Given that Trump has tried to orchestrate a coup the last time he was in office, I donāt think itās a hyperbolic claim to say heās trying again this time. Iām also not making any claims about the likelihood of success.
I think this is very uncharitable to other Forum users. (Unless you meant āis getting only upvotes [..]ā)
I was mostly objecting to your statement of āseeing no sign of authoritarian takeoverā, I do agree and mentioned in my comment that Siebeās statement was possibly too definite.
But I donāt think it is hyperbolic to say that there are many signs of Trumpās authoritarianism and signs consistent with an attempted authoritarian takeover and that this is qualitatively different than what we have seen from any other President in recent history, one has to go back to at least Nixon to get things in the same ballpark (and Nixon was arguably a lot more constrained by his own party than Trump is right now).
The examples you are citing āPresidents doing things that should be done through Congressā are not examples of authoritarian behavior and pretending that what Trump is doing is part of the regular testing of executive authority is also quite misleading.
Which other recent Administration was headed by someone denying a legitimate election result? Which other recent Administration had a VP flirting with the idea of not honoring Supreme Court rulings? Which other recent Administration was systematically invested in fighting against civil society institutions and law firms? Which other Administration has had so many people warning about authoritarian tendencies, both from their own party and from key senior staff from their own first administration?