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Donald Trump speaks during the first presidential debate against former Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 29, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)
Trump Goes Full Authoritarian Dictator
The only winner of last night's "debate" was dictatorship and oligarchy.
Sep 30, 2020
What we saw last night was the dictator's playbook.
Tell violent white supremacist racists to "stand by" and encourage them to show up at polling places to intimidate voters.
Bully, bluster and threaten like Mussolini did, promoting your brand as "tough guy" when in fact you're a lazy coward.
Claim that the other side is evil, like Hitler did, setting up excuses for state-run police violence and vigilante brutality.
Trash-talk democratic institutions, including the vote, like Hungary's Victor Orban and and Saudi Arabia's dictator Mohammed bin Salman do.
While millions of Americans are struggling with loss of jobs, lack of healthcare during a pandemic, and an absolutely gutted social safety net after 40 years of Reaganomics, all Trump did was brag, yell, and threaten.
This is classic dictator's playbook.
The only winner of last night's "debate" was dictatorship and oligarchy.
Russia, China and authoritarianism around the world were the big winners last night. America was the loser.
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Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Thom Hartmann
Thom Hartmann is a talk-show host and the author of "The Hidden History of Monopolies: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream" (2020); "The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America" (2019); and more than 25 other books in print.
What we saw last night was the dictator's playbook.
Tell violent white supremacist racists to "stand by" and encourage them to show up at polling places to intimidate voters.
Bully, bluster and threaten like Mussolini did, promoting your brand as "tough guy" when in fact you're a lazy coward.
Claim that the other side is evil, like Hitler did, setting up excuses for state-run police violence and vigilante brutality.
Trash-talk democratic institutions, including the vote, like Hungary's Victor Orban and and Saudi Arabia's dictator Mohammed bin Salman do.
While millions of Americans are struggling with loss of jobs, lack of healthcare during a pandemic, and an absolutely gutted social safety net after 40 years of Reaganomics, all Trump did was brag, yell, and threaten.
This is classic dictator's playbook.
The only winner of last night's "debate" was dictatorship and oligarchy.
Russia, China and authoritarianism around the world were the big winners last night. America was the loser.
Thom Hartmann
Thom Hartmann is a talk-show host and the author of "The Hidden History of Monopolies: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream" (2020); "The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America" (2019); and more than 25 other books in print.
What we saw last night was the dictator's playbook.
Tell violent white supremacist racists to "stand by" and encourage them to show up at polling places to intimidate voters.
Bully, bluster and threaten like Mussolini did, promoting your brand as "tough guy" when in fact you're a lazy coward.
Claim that the other side is evil, like Hitler did, setting up excuses for state-run police violence and vigilante brutality.
Trash-talk democratic institutions, including the vote, like Hungary's Victor Orban and and Saudi Arabia's dictator Mohammed bin Salman do.
While millions of Americans are struggling with loss of jobs, lack of healthcare during a pandemic, and an absolutely gutted social safety net after 40 years of Reaganomics, all Trump did was brag, yell, and threaten.
This is classic dictator's playbook.
The only winner of last night's "debate" was dictatorship and oligarchy.
Russia, China and authoritarianism around the world were the big winners last night. America was the loser.
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