America’s Future: Democracy or Authoritarianism ?
Authoritarianism is characterized by a central government that limits individual freedom and suppresses political opposition. Major government decisions are made by one person or a small group of like minded people. Here are some of the ways that President Trump is undermining democracy to build an authoritarian state.
Executive Orders and National Emergencies
According to the Federal Register Trump has issued 212 executive orders. The American Bar Association defines an EO as “ a signed document from the President of the US that manages operations of the federal government.” An EO does not require Congressional approval .
A National Emergency is a situation in which the government is empowered to perform acts not normally permitted. According to Congress.Gov, “ over the course of the twentieth century Congress delegated increasing amounts of emergency power to the President by statute…”
Congress has the power to terminate a state of emergency by a joint resolution of Congress. However various presidents have declared 77 national emergencies . Of these 46 are still ongoing.
Trump declared his first national emergency by executive order on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025. It declared “ a national emergency at the southern border of the US” and directed the Department of Homeland Security “ to take all legal measures possible to deny physical entry into the US of all illegal migrants” . On this basis masked ICE agents have taken measures that are arbitrary, excessive and/or illegal.
In March our president issued an EO “ Addressing Risks from Jenner & Block” dealing with “ the significant risks of ‘Big Law’ firms that engage in conduct detrimental to critical American interests.”
This was designed to intimate law firms that might do things detrimental to American interests like representing clients our president doesn’t like.
Cabinet Secretaries can also issue directives. The Department of Justice issued regulations making it easier to prosecute leaks to the news media saying: “Safe guarding classified, privileged and other essential information is essential to effective governance and law enforcement .” This directive is so broad and vague as to include almost anything the Trump administration might want to prosecute.
Politicizing the Military
According to the Constitution the President of the US is commander-in-chief of its armed forces . This is necessary to establish control of the military under elected, civilian government . However, President Donald Trump has been turning the military into an instrument of his personal political power.
In September he gathered our country’s most senior generals and told them that he intends to mobilize the military against “the enemy from within”. Trump told a different audience that he might “ send more than the National Guard” into US cities. He continued, “ I could send the Army , Navy , Air Force, Marines, I can send anybody I wanted”.
Trump has removed at least a dozen senior officers he didn’t approve of without explanation. This included the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Pardons and Prosecutions,
Trump issued “ full, complete and unconditional” pardons or commutations to almost 1600 people charged or convicted in the January 6, 2021 insurrection riot at our nation’s capitol . According to Trump his pardon “ …ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people…” Trump has referred to the riot participants as “the J6 hostages”
More recently, Trump granted preemptive pardons to Rudy Guiliani, his former personal lawyer, and other figures accused of backing Republican efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
There is a clear message in this: If you try to overthrow the results of a presidential election he lost, President Trump is on your side and has your back.
At Trump’s request the Department of Justice has pursued legal action against those he considers political enemies. As an example, the DOJ is prosecuting former FBI Director James Comey because of his investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016.
The situation is dire but not hopeless. The Supreme Court has not yet ruled whether Trump can Constitutionally use emergency powers to levy tariffs at his sole discretion . The case has significant implication for limiting presidential actions that have been reserved for the Congress by our Constitution. If the Supreme Court rules against Trump and if the ruling is enforced the unconstitutional structure of Trump’s authoritarian approach to government will be weakened. If Trumps policies regarding SNAP , the ACA and tariffs hurt enough Americans and /or the Epstein files infuriate enough people, Trump’s party may lose at least one house of Congress. Americans can take effective non-violent steps to protect free speech and other freedoms. For example, Disney canceled Jimmy Kimmel’s TV program under pressure from Trump. When several million citizens canceled their Disney subscriptions the Kimmel program was restored .
Democracy as we have known it is under threat but it isn’t dead yet. The judiciary , Congress and everyday citizens may yet derail our descent into authoritarianism.