America sleepwalks into a dictatorship

From a 900-page plan that expands presidential power to undermining the Federal Reserve to gain total control, U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing America to the brink of authoritarianism.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP's forces are rapidly destroying the foundations of democracy in the U.S.

Troops on the streets are just the most obvious examples of the major changes taking place. Following the Project 25 roadmap has taken American democracy to the edge of a cliff. All the signs of the plot to remake America into a dictatorship are clearly visible daily in the media, so why aren't more people concerned?

For one thing, Americans are immersed from birth in the belief that they are blessed with having the greatest democracy on earth. They sneer at other less fortunate countries that suffer martial law and rigged elections. This superior attitude is the basis of "Ugly American" syndrome.

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From Wikipedia:

'"Ugly American" is a stereotype depicting American citizens as exhibiting loud, arrogant, self-absorbed, demeaning, thoughtless, ignorant, and ethnocentric behaviour mainly abroad, but also at home. Although the term is usually associated with or applied to travellers and tourists, it also applies to U.S. corporate businesses in the international arena.'

Foreigners are more aware of the U.S. fall from democracy than most Americans. Former authoritarian fighter and later President of Poland Lech Wałęsa picked it when commenting on Trump’s treatment of Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently in the Oval Office.

Wałęsa sent the following letter to Donald Trump:

Your Excellency, Mr President,

We watched the report of your conversation with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, with fear and distaste. We find it insulting that you expect Ukraine to show respect and gratitude for the material assistance provided by the United States in its fight against Russia. Gratitude is owed to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed their blood in defence of the values of the free world. They have been dying on the front lines for more than 11 years in the name of these values and the independence of their homeland, which was attacked by Putin’s Russia.

We do not understand how the leader of a country that symbolises the free world cannot recognise this.

Our alarm was also heightened by the atmosphere in the Oval Office during this conversation, which reminded us of the interrogations we endured at the hands of the Security Services and the debates in Communist courts.

Prosecutors and judges, acting on behalf of the all-powerful communist political police, would explain to us that they held all the power while we held none. They demanded that we cease our activities, arguing that thousands of innocent people suffered because of us. They stripped us of our freedoms and civil rights because we refused to cooperate with the government or express gratitude for our oppression. We are shocked that President Volodymyr Zelensky was treated in the same manner.

Lech Wałęsa recognises Trump’s style as authoritarian, even if the majority of Americans don’t.

Of course, Donald J Trump is not known for his intellect. Without Project 25, he would be floundering. It is a 900-page set of proposals that would expand presidential power and impose an ultra-conservative social vision. More than 100 right-wing organisations contributed to the document.

It sets out four main policy aims:

restore the family as the centrepiece of American life;
dismantle the administrative state;
defend the nation's sovereignty and borders; and
secure god-given individual rights to live freely (unless you are brown, black or poor).

Some of the proposals have already formed the basis for Trump's executive orders.

The Project 2025 playbook contains strategies regarding the future of the Federal Reserve and monetary policy. The Federal Reserve is the central banking system of the U.S., whose goal is to alleviate financial crises through controlling interest rates.

At a minimum, the authority of the Federal Reserve would be significantly reduced; at a maximum, the Federal Reserve would be fully eliminated. The authority and regulatory power of the Federal Reserve, combined with how monetary policy would be implemented, would be transferred to “elected officials,” meaning that presidential and congressional power over monetary policy would increase while the Federal Reserve’s authority would be significantly decreased or eliminated.

Donald Trump says he is now taking over control of monetary policy in the U.S. in order to “Get interest rates down.” His method is to pick off existing Federal Reserve personnel and replace them with his own people.

Trump recently announced that he was removing Lisa Cook, one of the seven governors of the Federal Reserve. The reason: "For cause", based on an unproven allegation of fraud in mortgage applications while she was a professor.

Trump followed up by telling a televised cabinet meeting that:

"We'll have a majority on the FOMC (The Fed's Federal Open Market Committee) very shortly. Once we have a majority, housing is going to swing, and it's going to be great. People are paying too high an interest rate."

But it's not about housing or the interest rate, which is a handy, understandable concept. It's another huge step in America's slide into authoritarianism and the Far-Right takeover of every aspect of government.

This is the implementation of Project 25’s “Unitary Executive Theory”, which is based on the proposition that the president should have complete executive authority over everything in the federal jurisdiction.

All too complicated, right? Congress is in recess and Americans are enjoying their summer vacations. Some, however, are worried and starting to take action.

On 14 June, millions rallied in cities across the country for "No Kings" protests. Big demonstrations took place in hundreds of cities across the U.S. on 2 August. On Labor Day, 1 September, more than 900 “Workers over Billionaires" protests against President Trump and his Administration were held in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Protests are a good start, but more action is desperately needed. On the face of it, Trumpism shouldn’t be hard to deal with.

The president’s job approval rating has slipped to 38% in the Pew Research Center’s latest poll. Voters also reject Trump’s main policy initiatives. They strongly disapprove (61-38) of his tariffs, the retro centrepiece of Trumponomics. A solid majority of 55% say they lack confidence in Trump’s ability to make good decisions on economic policy.

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Voters evidently aren’t big fans of DOGE either; nearly two-to-one, they say Trump is making the federal government work worse rather than better. And they disapprove of Trump’s budget-busting mega-bill by a 10-point margin (42-32).

So if Trump is sinking, why aren’t the Democrats rising? A Wall Street Journal poll last month found that 63% of voters hold an unfavourable view of the Democratic Party, which is the highest level in the 35 years they have been asking the question.

Voters give Trump low grades on tariffs, inflation and foreign policy, but say they trust Republicans more than Democrats to handle every major issue except health care.

If traditional methods of winning voters have failed to elevate the Democrats, a new approach is desperately needed.

California Governor Gavin Newsom thinks he has the answer: Newsom has infuriated the President through frequent social media trolling. Up until now, Trump has been the uncontested "troller in chief".

Recently, Newsome posted a video on Instagram trolling the president’s health complaints.

The montage, set to the 2001 song 'I’m a Survivor' by country music star Reba McEntire, pulls together some of Trump’s most embarrassing gaffes in the public eye, from tripping on the steps to Air Force One to recoiling in horror from a squawking eagle and being bumped in the chin by a rogue reporter’s microphone.

“He’s trying,” the post is captioned.

Not only has the trolling annoyed Trump, but it is also improving Democrats' standing with younger voters who have been increasingly ignoring the party for years.

In leading that fight, the comparatively youthful Newsom (57) has very quickly become the most visible Democrat on the national stage, eclipsing leaders in the House and Senate and building a firm foundation with voters if he enters the 2028 presidential race as seems likely.

Americans are starting to wake up from their paralytic political slumber. However, the alarm clock has been ringing for a long time and they may have already missed the bus.