Three weeks into Trump’s presidency – historian’s warning

Published: 14 February 2017

Last updated: 4 March 2024

‘We have at most a year to defend American democracy, perhaps less’ –Matthias Kolb – English translation from Süddeutsche Zeitung 07.02.17
An interview with Timothy Snyder, professor of history at Yale University and the author of numerous books on European history. ‘[Trump] doesn’t seem to care about the institutions and the laws except insofar as they appear as barriers to the goal of permanent kleptocratic authoritarianism and immediate personal gratification. It is all about him all of the time, it is not about the citizens and our political traditions.’

And see:

When it’s too late to stop fascism, according to Stefan Zweig – George Prochnik – The New Yorker 06.02.17
It is a law of history, wrote Zweig, ‘that contemporaries are denied a recognition of the early beginnings of the great movements which determine their times.’ He was determined to trace how the Nazis’ reign of terror had become possible, and how he and so many others had been blind to its beginnings.

How Donald Trump could build an autocracy in the US – David Frum – The Atlantic March 2017 Issue
The preconditions are present in the US today. Here’s the playbook Trump could use to set the country down a path toward illiberalism.