Article by WN.Com Correspondent Dallas Darling
Political scientists agree there are two things authoritarians must do to erode democracy and gain power. The first is develop a culture of fear. The second, attack solemn and independent institutions.
Consequently, some warn this is exactly what Donald Trump is doing. Backed by Fox News and talk radio, he’s convinced millions of followers of a Deep State plot to overthrow him and, in the words of Fox News’ Sean Hannity, who repeatedly reminds his viewers: “Is a clear and present danger to this country and you!”
Attacks include America’s justice and intelligence agencies as well, thereby weakening their credibility and investigative powers.
The Only Thing to Fear Is Fear of Illegitimacy…
But then it was well known Trump never did like investigations. It didn’t change as president. In his mind, the “People investigating him seem to have unlimited powers.”1
It was more so with Mueller’s probe. Though finished, it has evolved into 15 ongoing investigations and a counter-intelligence operation. Along with being agitated and angry over the investigations, even displaying a deep sense of fear and paranoia, some say it consumes entire days. This would explain why he rarely misses a chance to label those involved with the probe as “crazy,” “traitors” and “Deep State spear.” Or why he calls it “unfair” and a “witch hunt!”
Neither was he used to briefings like the one he received on a cold January morning in 2016. A quartet of intelligence officials thought it their duty to deliver a bombshell report that showed Russia had meddled in the 2016 election. It included “a significant escalation in directness, level of activity and scope of effort” beyond anything that U.S. intelligence agencies had ever seen.” And then came the bullet point: “We also assess Putin and Russian Government aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances whenever possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him.”2
Other than fear itself, this may be what Trump fears most. It would explain why he’s fired the very same intelligence officials which delivered the scathing report: Namely, the former Director of the FBI James Comey, then Director of the CIA James Brennan and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. The other fired official was Michael Rogers, head of the National Security Agency. All four agreed the evidence was “overwhelming” Russia had helped Trump win, and “support for the conclusions was unanimous.” Though it hadn’t yet appeared Russia had tampered with the voting systems, the only thing Trump cared about was if his presidency was legit. Evidently, it wasn’t.
…And Fear Itself
“Of all the liars in the world,” wrote Rudyard Kipling, “the worst is our own fears.” Only in Trump’s case, they’re not lies. This then is what he fears most: The truth about his greatest fear, or how he became president. Another fear is the American people, that they will know and come to believe the election was not won by his own merits but with the “aspiration” of the Russian government. As an authoritarian, it explains why he attacks certain justice and intelligence officials. Illegitimacy is, and always will be, one of their greatest fears. Trump is no different. He’s running from this fear, and the fear his election win was a fraud.
But he’s also running from fear itself. This is the reason he told Bob Woodward and Robert Costa “Real power is – I don’t even want to use the word – fear.”3 Like most despots and dictators, he equates power with fear. Anyone who appears to be his co-equal, or which may have oversight over him and his alleged wrongdoings, is a person never to be trusted but feared. Authoritarians thrive on this kind of fear, since it is what drives them and gives them purpose. Despite what the facts or evidence may be, it also serves to reinforce their suspicions and accusations. Suspicions and accusation which not only stoke more fear but produce a conspiracy of lies and villains.
Fearful authoritarians like Trump can moreover project their fears onto their followers and the rest of the nation. He’s succeeded in doing this, creating a culture of fear and mistrust – two traits which destroy democracy. His steady, low-grade level of political and social instability, mixed with political polarization and Deep State plots, have encouraged his base to cling to and depend on him. Ideally, his heavy hand – in the form of attacks and obstruction – must be perceived as a response to a movement which threatens the very fabric of society. In this case, it’s both the Deep Sate and certain justice officials who delivered the report and the Democratic Party.
Treasonous Until Proven Innocent
Because of fear of illegitimacy and fear itself, Trump had to find these four federal officials and their agencies guilty of “treason.” It entailed calling them “Enemies of the American people,” and likening them to those operating in Nazi Germany. He had to then order his Department of Justice to help prove it. It’s another way to destroy democratic institutions and officials who may have equal power. Treason, to be sure, would mean they had to have been literally acting on behalf of a country or entity (like ISIS) which is at war with America. Although his accusations are meritless, it doesn’t matter to him or his base. In fact, they still call for their “arrests” and “imprisonments,” including that of his opponent’s (Hillary Clinton) in the 2016 general election.
Known as a “Purge” in countries ruled by despots, it’s consequently the first time in recent memory a president has openly called for a criminal investigation into perceived enemies. If he can succeed in convincing followers of corruption and a possible coup, and then delegitimize the investigators who initiated the Mueller probe, he can systematically purge and restructure the intelligence agencies to his own liking – and with his own appointees and personnel. As for his Attorney General William Barr and the “rule of law,” Barr has thus far behaved as if the rule of law is what Trump says. As for justice, this too starts and ends with Trump.
Some warn this sets a dangerous precedent. Along with purging intelligence officials, Trump is setting-up Americans to think certain agencies are too corrupt to be reformed, let alone exist as they do now. The only remedy is his own agencies, which requires Americans to trust his own intelligence estimates and that of his AG. It includes affirming his own pre-ordained preferences. It’s what Barr hinted at when he testified before a Congressional committee regarding Mueller’s investigation. He said a president had the right to obstruct justice anytime he “suspects” or “perceives” that the Constitution is being undermined.
Outspoken Critics Must Be Delegitimized
Comey and others, of course, disagree with the president. Calling his idea of a coup the “worst Deep-State conspiracy ever,” he called Trump a “liar” in an op-ed for the Washington Post. “We must call out his lies that the FBI was corrupt and committed to treason, that we spied on the Trump campaign and tried to defeat Donald Trump. We must constantly return to the stubborn facts,” wrote Comey. Those facts now reveal intelligence agencies were so shocked and surprised about the ongoing communication between Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives they didn’t know how to proceed. Meanwhile, they investigated Clinton’s campaign, along with the electronic hacking and tampering of votes by Russia on Election Day.
One critic of Trump’s fearful authoritarianism is coming from an unlikely source, Rep. Justin Amash. He not only fired off dozens of tweets to support his earlier contention the president deserved to be impeached, but he continues to speak out against Trump and what he believes is a Constitutional crisis. As reported by Alternet, Amash even took aim at Barr for selling a “false narrative” about Mueller’s findings. It included deliberately misrepresenting key aspects of the Mueller’s report and decisions in the investigation, which “has helped further the president’s false narrative about the investigation.” Others agree. Whenever he calls out Barr’s cherry-picked quotes and lies, he usually receives a standing ovation.
But in the end, Trump still needs to push a narrative of fear to hide his own illegitimacy; and for fear itself. Driven by deep insecurities and the idea fear and power – even if it’s shared power – are the same, he will continue to try and delegitimize his critics. He’ll also obstruct Congress from exercising its constitutional duties to execute oversight regarding the Mueller report. It includes his campaign’s ties to Russia which dealt with money laundering schemes. Indeed, 900 emails between his longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen, and a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin about a Trump Tower in Moscow, may yet expose another hidden fear: Disloyalty.
Projecting and Protecting Fears
For now, Mueller will have another chance to articulate his findings before the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees today. Most judicial and intelligence officials agree it’s the only way he can finish the job. Others say his testimony will help determine the future of the country, especially since he failed to get the law, the facts or even the basics of writing about obstruction and a conspiracy with Russian officials to rig the election right. (Recall in his report, Mueller concluded the 2016 Trump campaign’s interactions with Russians, although many covered up with coordinated lies, didn’t rise to the level of a full-fledged criminal conspiracy.)
As for the president obstructing justice, many say there will be serious consequences if Mueller’s report which details 10 instances of potential obstruction aren’t ever prosecuted. This includes what some see as deeply unethical, unpatriotic and corrupt behavior Mueller uncovered by the Trump campaign and the president. The same goes for Mueller explaining why he decided to outsource 15 ongoing investigations, some of which will not only be overseen by Trump’s DOJ but have already been stopped.
In the meantime, Trump will continue to accuse Mueller of committing a crime and insisting Russia’s 2016 propaganda campaign on social media had no impact on the 2016 election. But again, America’s intelligence agencies found otherwise. Along with discovering the weeks when Russian Trolls and the Internet Research Agency were accumulating likes and retweets on Twitter, that activity reliably foreshadowed enormous gains for Trump in the opinion polls. Most after-election investigations have also reinforced what America’s intelligence agencies already knew, Russia helped shift U.S. public opinion in Trump’s favor, which translated into votes.
New Fears for an Old Authoritarian
Given the election hinged on 75,000 votes in three swing states, it’s unlikely Trump would’ve won the Electoral College. No wonder then, Trump continues to downplay the Mueller report and Russian interference, calling the latter’s propaganda effort “a couple of Facebook ads.” This still didn’t stop the Mueller report from describing Russian interference as “an operation designed to undermine American democracy by exacerbating divisions, hurt Clinton and help Trump.” Nor will it prevent what could be “bombshell” revelations during the hearing. Some of which could wind up leading to new investigations or even impeachment.
New investigations and impeachment, that is, which will create new fears for an old authoritarian leader.
Dallas Darling (darling@wn.com)
(Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Reading on Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John’s Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, and Peace. He is a correspondent for www.WN.com. You can read more of Dallas’ writings at www.beverlydarling.com and www.WN.com/dallasdarling.)
1 Woodward, Bob. Fear: Trump in the White House, New York, New York: Simon and Schuster, 2018., p. 174.
2 Miller, Greg. The Apprentice: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of American Democracy, New York, New York: Harper Collins, 2018. p. 224.
3Ibid., p. 228.
Photo:
AP / Manuel Balce Ceneta
