Trump, Authoritarian? Not Really--He's a Monarchist
He governs by decree. He surrounds himself with courtiers. He rules by whim, and his moods can turn on a dime. Recognize any of those traits?
JACK SCHWARTZ
02.20.17 12:15 AM ET
Critics have accused the President of being authoritarian, but this is unfair. An authoritarian requires an understanding of the democracy he is usurping. Donald Trump shows no such appreciation. His cause is himself. His style is his substance. At heart, he is a monarchist—naturally, instinctively, unreflectively. It may be his only sincere belief. And who better than he to wield the scepter?
From Trump’s point of view, this may not be a bad thing. A king does not necessarily have to be a dictator. There are, after all, constitutional monarchs who reign over democracies, including those of some of our closest former allies. A king can unify the country and provide a stabilizing influence in troubled times. Most importantly, he can be a symbol of national purpose providing security at home and projecting strength abroad.
While this may seem to contravene the principles of a republic, keep in mind that one doesn’t have to be a real monarch to act like one. And Trump has assumed the posture of a king without the title. He governs by decree. Within a fortnight of his reign, rather than making policy proposals, he issues fiats: on refugees (barred), politics in church (blessed), federal regulations (bumped), without hardly a by-your-leave to Congress, despite the fact that he commands a majority there. When he deigns to offer advice to the Senate it is in the form of a pronouncement: “Go nuclear!”
Trump’s inauguration and the ceremonies to follow had the trappings of a coronation and surely would have done more so if he’d had his druthers. Though presidents traditionally announce a photo session at the signing of a major piece of legislation, Trump has created a series of photo-ops almost daily that show him signing new edicts with a stroke of the pen. Government by gesture. More pomp than circumstance. One half expects to hear him declaim in the first-person plural. In a parody of Franklin Roosevelt’s first hundred days, he gives the appearance of action and decisiveness. It may turn out that these flourishes are ill-considered or premature but no matter. It is the projection of forcefulness, of getting things done, that is important. It is a rule of misrule: Ostensibly despotic, essentially chaotic.
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/19/trump-authoritarian-not-really-he-s-a-monarchist.html
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