Many chilling details emerged from Donald Trump’s recent interview with Time magazine, but few have been more revealing than an exchange that, in my opinion, didn’t get the attention it deserved.
Asked about his authoritarian rhetoric about being a “dictator for a day” and “suspending the Constitution,” Trump responded, “I think a lot of people like that.”
Now, in fairness, Trump insisted he was just joking and “being sarcastic” when he said these things. Furthermore, he suggested that normal people understand, while the overworked press (who find jokes about these things dangerous and worry about “norms” and “social fabric”) continue to allow themselves to be trolled by him.
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This argument falls apart, however, when you consider that some of Trump’s most loyal fans took him seriously. And literally when he summoned them to the Capitol on January 6. Many of these rioters (or, as Trump calls them, hostages) said they were simply taking their marching orders from the president.
Trump may have committed something of a Kinsley gaffe in this area. Time interview, which is to say that he inadvertently revealed something true: many Trump supporters like authoritarian speeches, and a subset of those people probably wouldn’t mind a real dictator (as long as that their the guy was the autocrat).
But is it possible that more than a handful of weirdos feel this way?
On a global scale, authoritarianism has always had appeal. According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, “…a median of 31% in 24 countries favor authoritarian systems…” and “people on the ideological right are more likely” than others to support them.
There seems to be a deep-seated romantic desire inherent in the human psyche that causes many people to prefer a despot to the disorder and abstraction that liberal forms of government provide.
But what about America? We are, after all, a liberal nation that has all kinds of institutions and ideas (such as the rule of law, checks and balances, etc.) to guard against the passions of the mob, as well as against the potential rise of strongmen.
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Well, it turns out maybe we’re not so exceptional after all. According to a PRRI survey released last year, “Slightly fewer than four in ten Americans (38%) agree with the following statement: ‘Because things have gotten so out of control in this country, we need to a leader willing to break some rules if.” That’s what it takes to make things right…’”
The figure is even higher for Republicans, with nearly half (48 percent) of GOP respondents agree with this statement.
(Note: The largest cohort to agree was Hispanic Catholics – at 51 percent – which could be telling for those trying to understand why Trump performed better among some minority voters, despite his racism.)
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Perhaps even more alarming is that the PRRI survey also showed that “nearly a quarter of Americans (23%) agree that ‘because things have gone so off the rails, true American patriots may have to resort to violence to save our country…”
These measurements are supported by academic and authoritarian expert Matthew C. MacWilliams, who in 2020 surmised that “about 18% of Americans are very inclined toward authoritarianism,” while “about 23% are only a rung below them on the authoritarian ladder.” .”
In total, MacWilliams states that “about 40 percent of Americans tend to value authority, obedience, and uniformity over freedom, independence, and diversity.”
Today, it is fair to say that someone might favor a robust law and order regime and still not want an outright dictatorship. But few dictators come forward and say they want to be dictators; it’s easy to see the slippery slope between what these surveys measure and authoritarian rule.
The good news is that authoritarianism is still not a majority position. Yet how many of us would have guessed a few years ago that so many of our fellow Americans harbored these authoritarian tendencies?
Most of us would have assumed that adopting dictatorial rhetoric would spell the end of any modern American politician. But somehow, Trump instinctively understood something that the rest of us didn’t.
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This is why, despite two indictments, four indictments, comments that he is “dictator for a day,” etc., Trump is either winning or tied with Joe Biden in most polls.
If you want to understand why Trump continues to say outrageous things that seem to go against his political interests, the survey numbers mentioned earlier suggest there is a method to his madness. As Trump said, “a lot of people like it.”
And since Donald Trump can win the presidency with less than 50% of the vote, that could be enough to win the 2024 presidential election (which hopefully won’t be our last election).
Regardless, for a surprisingly large number of Americans, Trump’s authoritarian tendencies are a feature, not a bug.
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