Ruth Ben-Ghiat: The clues to Trump's presidency are already there from authoritarian regimes throughout history
From stifling of press to discrediting justices who object to extra-legal practices, Trump's record bodes ill, she says
Editor’s Note: Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a frequent contributor to CNN Opinion and a professor of history and Italian studies at New York University. Her latest book is “Italian Fascism’s Empire Cinema.” The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
CNN
—
In less than a week, America will embark on a new political experience: rule by an authoritarian President. Donald Trump won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million. So, for every American who looks forward to the Trump era, there is likely another who fears he will lead us into ruin.
What can we expect from Donald Trump, based on his words and actions over the 19 months since he declared his candidacy?
Many Americans were initially confused by Trump and his unorthodox behavior, or dismissed him as a joke. I have spent decades studying authoritarian and fascist regimes and saw in Trump a deeply familiar figure: the strongman who cultivates a bond with followers based on loyalty to him as a person rather than to a party or set of principles.
Such individuals inevitably seek to adapt the political office they inhabit to serve their needs. They are clear from the start about this intention, refusing to submit to shared customs and norms – such as releasing tax returns – that would mean they were submitting to the will of the political class. Anyone who believes that Trump will morph into anything resembling a traditional politician will be sorely disappointed. Authoritarians never pivot.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
exclusive photo by nigel parry for CNN
President-elect Donald Trump has been in the spotlight for years. From developing real estate and producing and starring in TV shows, he became a celebrity long before winning the White House.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
Trump at age 4. He was born in 1946 to Fred and Mary Trump in New York City. His father was a real estate developer.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
Trump, left, in a family photo. He was the second-youngest of five children.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
Trump, center, stands at attention during his senior year at the New York Military Academy in 1964.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
Trump, center, wears a baseball uniform at the New York Military Academy in 1964. After he graduated from the boarding school, he went to college. He started at Fordham University before transferring and later graduating from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania's business school.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
Trump stands with Alfred Eisenpreis, New York's economic development administrator, in 1976 while they look at a sketch of a new 1,400-room renovation project of the Commodore Hotel. After graduating college in 1968, Trump worked with his father on developments in Queens and Brooklyn before purchasing or building multiple properties in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey. Those properties included Trump Tower in New York and Trump Plaza and multiple casinos in Atlantic City.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Fred W. McDarrah/Getty Images
Trump attends an event to mark the start of construction of the New York Convention Center in 1979.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Ted Horowitz/Getty Images
Trump wears a hard hat at the Trump Tower construction site in New York in 1980.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
SWERZEY/AFP/Getty Images
Trump was married to Ivana Zelnicek Trump from 1977 to 1990, when they divorced. They had three children together: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Norman Parkinson Archive/Corbis/Getty Images
The Trump family, circa 1986.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Joe McNally/Getty Images
Trump uses his personal helicopter to get around New York in 1987.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Ted Thai/Getty Images
Trump stands in the atrium of the Trump Tower.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Leif Skoogfors/Getty Images
Trump attends the opening of his new Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in 1989.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Trump signs his second book, "Trump: Surviving at the Top," in 1990. Trump has published at least 16 other books, including "The Art of the Deal" and "The America We Deserve."
Photos: Donald Trump: America's 45th President
Donna Connor/Getty Images
Trump and singer Michael Jackson pose for a photo before traveling to visit Ryan White, a young child with AIDS, in 1990.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
AFP/Getty Images
Trump dips his second wife, Marla Maples, after the couple married in a private ceremony in New York in December 1993. The couple divorced in 1999 and had one daughter together, Tiffany.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Simon Bruty/Getty Images
Trump putts a golf ball in his New York office in 1998.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Getty Images
An advertisement for the television show "The Apprentice" hangs at Trump Tower in 2004. The show launched in January of that year. In January 2008, the show returned as "Celebrity Apprentice."
Photos: Donald Trump: America's 45th President
Getty Images
A 12-inch talking Trump doll is on display at a toy store in New York in September 2004.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Bebeto Matthews/AP
Trump attends a news conference in 2005 that announced the establishment of Trump University. From 2005 until it closed in 2010, Trump University had about 10,000 people sign up for a program that promised success in real estate. Three separate lawsuits -- two class-action suits filed in California and one filed by New York's attorney general -- argued that the program was mired in fraud and deception. Trump's camp rejected the suits' claims as "baseless." And Trump has charged that the New York case against him is politically motivated.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
AFP/Getty Images
Trump attends the U.S. Open tennis tournament with his third wife, Melania Knauss-Trump, and their son, Barron, in 2006. Trump and Knauss married in 2005.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Getty Images
Trump wrestles with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania in 2007. Trump has close ties with the WWE and its CEO, Vince McMahon.
Photos: Donald Trump: America's 45th President
Getty Images
For "The Apprentice," Trump was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in January 2007.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
NBCUniversal/NBC/Getty Images
Trump appears on the set of "The Celebrity Apprentice" with two of his children -- Donald Jr. and Ivanka -- in 2009.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
D Dipasupil/WireImage/Getty Images
Trump poses with Miss Universe contestants in 2011. Trump had been executive producer of the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants since 1996.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
AFP/Getty Images
In 2012, Trump announces his endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Photos: Donald Trump: America's 45th President
Getty Images
Trump speaks in Sarasota, Florida, after accepting the Statesman of the Year Award at the Sarasota GOP dinner in August 2012. It was shortly before the Republican National Convention in nearby Tampa.
Photos: Donald Trump: America's 45th President
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Trump appears on stage with singer Nick Jonas and television personality Giuliana Rancic during the 2013 Miss USA pageant.
Trump -- flanked by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, left, and Ted Cruz -- speaks during a CNN debate in Miami on March 10. Trump dominated the GOP primaries and emerged as the presumptive nominee in May.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Nancy Borowick for CNN
The Trump family poses for a photo in New York in April.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Bloomberg/Getty Images
Trump speaks during a campaign event in Evansville, Indiana, on April 28. After Trump won the Indiana primary, his last two competitors dropped out of the GOP race.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
John Moore/Getty Images
Trump delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention in July, accepting the party's nomination for President. "I have had a truly great life in business," he said. "But now, my sole and exclusive mission is to go to work for our country -- to go to work for you. It's time to deliver a victory for the American people."
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Pool/Getty Images
Trump faces Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the first presidential debate, which took place in Hempstead, New York, in September.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Donald Trump/Twitter
Trump apologizes in a video, posted to his Twitter account in October, for vulgar and sexually aggressive remarks he made a decade ago regarding women. "I said it, I was wrong and I apologize," Trump said, referring to lewd comments he made during a previously unaired taping of "Access Hollywood." Multiple Republican leaders rescinded their endorsements of Trump after the footage was released.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Trump walks on stage with his family after he was declared the election winner on November 9. "Ours was not a campaign, but rather, an incredible and great movement," he told his supporters in New York.
Photos: Donald Trump's rise
Mary Calvert for CNN
Trump is joined by his family as he is sworn in as President on January 20.
He has been open and unconcerned about his most provocative character traits – his penchant for aggression and for serial untruths – from the start of his campaign. Two years ago, he boasted that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any voters – and voters still rewarded him with the GOP nomination and the presidency. What incentive does he have to change now?
Trump has followed the authoritarian playbook in targeting the media. And once in power he’s very likely to step up his attempts at intimidation.
Strongmen show aggression to the press as part of a slow-drip strategy of discrediting all information that is not dispensed by their close allies. Many were surprised at Trump’s rude treatment of CNN at his recent press conference. Calling the media outlet “fake news,” he refused to allow reporter Jim Acosta to ask a question. This was classic authoritarian posturing.
We can hope that Trump does not follow Erdogan’s criminalization of the media (thousands of Turkish journalists have been arrested). But recall the fencing-off of journalists at Trump’s campaign rallies and his incitement of the crowd to treat them in a hostile manner. This does not bode well. The media must push back strongly now or pay a heavy price later.
Strongmen also target the judiciary, since it stands in the way of their “reforms” that often veer into extra-legality. Those with a history of legal troubles can be particularly focused on this sector. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose conflicts of interest and legal involvements were so numerous that they have their own Wikipedia pages, spent enormous energy attacking the Italian judiciary.
Trump, too, has a complicated legal history – and has demonstrated a similarly vindictive character.
So look forward to Trump administration efforts to tar individual judges who seem to block the fulfillment of GOP agendas or interfere with Trump’s personal interests. Remember the President-elect’s campaign to discredit Judge Gonzalo Curiel due to his Mexican heritage? We can expect more such accusations of bias, and rhetoric about “draining the swamp” of our legal system as well.
One more thing: Authoritarians love to think they are making history, and never hesitate to rewrite the past to suit their political agendas. Trump’s use of racism as a campaign tool laid the foundations for what will be a concerted effort to delegitimize the history of civil rights struggles in our country.
Trump often levies tweet-attacks on those who criticize him, but his denigration of Representative John Lewis on the Martin Luther King holiday weekend sends a message that he intends to fulfill promises to his white voters to try and reverse the course of racial emancipation.
“Be courageous or be complicit,” Representative Cedric Richmond recently stated in his testimony against Senator Jeff Sessions. The Trump administration promises to test that wisdom.
Each of us can stand our ground in our own way, but the lessons that come to us from a century of authoritarian rule around the world – and the civil rights movement in America – meet up in one phrase: Do not lose hope. Do not hide away. Be visible and be heard, on the street and in phone calls to your elected officials.
Some of us have taken our freedoms for granted. We now have a reason to value them all the more. We also have a chance to decide what side of history we want to be on.
Trump may be aligning himself with the global forces of illiberalism and racism, but we don’t have to follow him down that path. It’s up to us to make sure our most precious national treasure – American democracy – stays protected.
