Trump’s Fury Erupts in Many Directions, Unnerving Experts: “Insanity!” | The New Republic
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Trump’s Fury Erupts in Many Directions, Unnerving Experts: “Insanity!”

As Trump’s threats escalate on numerous fronts, a journalist and historian explains how the events of recent days suggest that little by little, our country really is crossing over into authoritarian and/or fascist rule.

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In recent days, President Trump has reached new levels of emboldenment when it comes to his ongoing authoritarian takeover. He’s raging at news organizations that displease him and vowing retribution with ever greater audacity. He’s responded to Democrats and others who criticized him by furiously threatening to send troops to their cities or to unleash state power against them in other ways. In recent days, something plainly has changed, and many observers are taking note. We talked to journalist and historian Garrett Graff, who has a great new piece on his Doomsday Scenario Substack arguing that we really are seeing the advent of “American fascism” right before our eyes. He explains that transformations like this are incremental and often hard to recognize, but that Trump’s escalating brazenness strongly suggests we’ve crossed over into something new. The pile-up of new offenses Trump is committing daily, Graff says, amounts to “insanity.” Listen to this episode here.