In my 2022 novel, “Cyberwars,” one of the characters suggests that internet technology makes it possible to turn a democracy into a democratic dictatorship. But when I wrote it, I couldn’t have imagined that this fiction could describe the U.S. under President Trump today.
While much of the globe is embroiled in the tariff wars that are setting the world on fire, a far more critical development is quietly taking place here at home: the transformation of Americans from citizens to subjects.
Following President Vladimir Putin, Trump is on his way to becoming an elected dictator. His behavior echoes the statement by Louis XIV to the Paris Parliament in 1655: “The state, it is me.” And in the next election, Trump will not need a self-coup or to incite his supporters the way he tried in 2020.
In the 2028 presidential elections, which he cannot constitutionally win, the gates to the White House may be wide open. He does not fear Congress, the judiciary, the American voter, the media or even the titans of the U.S. economy. He has already tested the waters, and these institutions and voters seem to capitulate to his dictates.
Ever since Trump took office on Jan. 20, the House of Representatives has rubber-stamped his initiatives and served as a mouthpiece to endorse his numerous executive orders, including the firing of inspectors general, the liquidation of USAID and the wholesale dismissal of civil servants. It is not deliberating the initiatives and orders or rejecting, changing or endorsing them, as an equal branch of government would.
The judiciary, the other co-equal branch of government, gave Trump immunity for all his actions relating to the core powers of his office. Though this ruling does not give the president total power, it is broad enough to allow Trump to behave as if he is above the law, denigrating and belittling many judges whose rulings he did not like.
For example, Trump publicly denounced federal judge James Boasberg, calling him a “Radical Left Lunatic” when the judge blocked Trump’s administration from deporting accused Venezuelan gang members. It is understandable that other judges could be intimidated in ruling against Trump’s wishes.
Trump did not spare the media from his vengeful displeasure. For example, he sued and settled for millions from ABC News ($15 million) and filed similar suits against CBS News and Iowa's Des Moines Register. He later expressed plans to cut government contributions to PBS and NPR.
Trump’s message is clear: Do not dare cast me in a bad light, or I will sue you or cut your government support. The upshot is that mass media organizations self-censor reporting against Trump and his critics are chilled into silence.
Furthermore, titans of U.S. industry such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook and Google’s Sundar Pichai were quick to kowtow before Trump for fear of retaliation and losses to their companies. Many of them attended his inauguration and came bearing gifts of a million dollars or more.
Finally, Trump is threatening to cancel millions of dollars of research funds to many higher education powerhouses such as Harvard, Cornell and Northwestern if they don’t modify many of their policies in accordance with his dictates.
So far, many institutions have acquiesced to Trump’s demands. In the case of Columbia University, the Trump administration aims to install federal oversight to ensure desired behavior. This is bound to suffocate innovation and the free flow of ideas for which American universities have been admired worldwide.
In this climate of capitulation or tacit support of Trump, many Americans feel helpless. They have been brought up as citizens with the power to elect the Congress and the president. But slowly, they are starting to feel like casting their votes is a formality to elect a preordained democratic tyrant.
Can anything be done to reverse this process and save the U.S. as a democracy? Maybe.
But this requires concerted efforts of all Americans and their institutions, ready to fight for their republic. Specifically:
Congress must reclaim its role as a co-equal branch of government and push back when the executive branch oversteps its authority. The judiciary must recapture its role in interpreting and implementing the law. The media must practice independent reporting on the topics of its choosing. Business leaders must stop being wimps and offering blind support to the administration. Most importantly, the citizens of this country must exercise their roles as the originators of all power in representative government and go to the barricades, if necessary, to fight for this privilege.I have faith in the deep-seated American values of fairness and free choice, including Americans' choice of their government.
In the final analysis, as Thomas Jefferson said, “The government you elect is the government you deserve.” He was right back then, and he is right now.
Professor Avraham Shama is an award-winning writer and a university professor. He writes of finance, government and policy issues.
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