MAGA Autocrats

In recent weeks, the twice impeached, twice indicted, sexual abuser and former president Donald J. Trump has openly formulated his plans to turn the presidency in a second term into a centralized autocracy. He is directly telling us that he wants to create a fascist administration should he return to office.

There. I said it. I used the “F” word. He fashions himself to be a modern day Mussolini or perhaps more appropriately, he wants the same power as Putin, Xi, Orban and the other strong men he so openly admires.

As outlined in a recent New York Times article that encapsulates the information on Trump’s campaign website, his campaign speeches and on-the-record interviews with key Trump advisers past and present, he intends to weaponize the government in order to “demolish the deep state. We will expel the warmongers from our government. We will drive out the globalists. We will cast out the communists, Marxists and fascists. And we will throw off the sick political class that hates our country.”

The plan is based on a “unitary executive theory” that has its roots in Article II, section 2 of the Constitution that lists the duties of the President and Vice President, how long they serve, how they are to be elected and other provisions of their offices. Some interpret the article as giving the president complete control over the executive branch, rejecting the idea that the Constitution created overlapping responsibilities for the three branches of government, thereby creating checks and balances. Under the unitary executive theory, independent agencies created by Congress — such as the Federal Reserve, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communication Commission and others — should be brought under direct control of the president and cannot make independent decisions as they do now (subject to Congressional funding and challenges in court). As explained in the New York Times, Trump and his advisers are openly advocating, and already taking steps to implement, their goal “to alter the balance of power by increasing the president’s authority over every part of the federal government that now operates, by either law or tradition, with any measure of independence from political interference by the White House.” Their goal extends beyond the independent agencies as they also want to purge career officials in the intelligence community, defense department, state department and justice department that are not “loyal” to Trump and most especially those that worked to temper his ambitions during his term. He wants total and complete unfettered power to do as he pleases. To further strengthen that power, the advisers to Trump claim that he has the absolute ability to impound funds within the executive branch. That means that even as Congress budgets and authorizes funding for various cabinet and agency activities, under the unitary theory, the president does not have to use those funds as they were intended. As the executive, he can move funding into or out of any area he chooses.

During his time as president, Trump tried to implement portions of this plan. Remember that he claimed during a speech in 2019 that “I have an Article 2, where I have the right to do whatever I want as president.” Near the end of his term he signed an Executive Order giving him the right to fire career government employees. Known familiarly as “Schedule F” its intent was to remove anyone associated with policy making that did not do exactly as the president wanted. The order was rescinded by President Biden, but Trump stated that it would be reinstated under his presidency. Such an order would give him the means to remove the “political class” that he reviles and replace them with Trump sycophants. Apparently technical expertise, experience, and knowledge would no longer suffice to work in the government, only loyalty to Trump and Trumpism count. The civil service system created over a hundred years ago would be out and the old, rotten practices of the 19th century would return where political favoritism and even bribes were the basis for entering the government work force.

Trump, his advisers and his campaign all openly espouse these proposed policies where Trump is all powerful. As I have said many times in this space, autocrats tell you up front what they plan to do. It is only a matter of whether or not they can pull it off. Following his surprise election inn 2016, Trump and his supporters were slow to understand how to implement changes. Additionally, senior officials in his administration worked to stop or moderate his most extreme ideas. Only at the very end of his administration did Trump figure out how to use his powers, such as bypassing the “advise and consent” role of the Senate for filling senior positions (“I like ‘actings'”). This time around, the key elements and advisers are already in place and are already identifying personnel to fill key positions. There is a network behind the scenes putting together the plan in places like the Heritage Foundation, the America First Policy Institute, the Center for Renewing America, and the Project for 2025 — think tanks with key former and future advisers to Trump at work delineating policies and transition strategies.

Why are they so brazenly up front about their plans? First, they noted the lack of push back from “establishment” Republicans when Trump and his MAGA supporters in Congress attack the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). They find this encouraging and tacit approval of their plans. Second, they argue that if they explain their agenda now, when Trump is elected he will have a “mandate” to carry out his plan.

The scale of the MAGA effort to transform our democracy is astonishing and well established. Should Trump not win the nomination, the effort will remain in place for the Republican nominee, whoever it is, with plans to implement it regardless of Trump’s absence. In particular, it would seem that Governor DeSantis (FL) could benefit from this organization as he has already instituted many of these measures in his own state.

This much is clear. Should any Republican win the 2024 election, the MAGA wing of the party intends to carry out the mission they have set for themselves. It is becoming increasingly clear that the 2024 presidential election will have one candidate that supports our democracy and one that supports autocracy. As Trump’s former personnel chief John McEntee explained to the New York Times reporters, “Our current executive branch was conceived of by liberals for the purpose of promulgating liberal policies. There is no way to make the existing structure function in a conservative manner. It’s not enough to get the personnel right. What’s necessary is a complete system overhaul.”