There is no reason to rehash Donald Trump’s inadequacies as president of the United States. All the world is aware of it. What concerns many of us is the relative ease with which a democracy can be turned into a dictatorship.
Trump has shown strong dictatorial tendencies.
One example is when he threatened to arrest some journalists for an alleged slight. He clearly wishes he had unrestricted dictatorial powers. He does not respect rule by law.
Our free press is routinely lambasted. Dictators and authoritarian governments are never criticized.
Since 2013 when Nicolas Madero was elected president, Venezuela has undergone systematic evolution from a reasonable democracy to a virtual dictatorship. The process is nearly complete. Only a full-fledged civil war can bring democracy back.
Trump admires dictators. He has made it clear that employees must be loyal to him, not to the Constitution. The current Trump situation eerily parallels that in Venezuela.
Nicolas Madero, the Venezuelan president turned dictator has shown Trump the way this transition can be achieved. First, he fired those not loyal to him. Next, he replaced critical officials with lackeys. The rule of law can now easily be circumvented.
The possibility is real and frightful. However, Allan Dershowitz, a well respected Constitutional scholar, believes that our Constitutional safeguards have so far held up well and will continue to hold up.
The world is watching our flawed president.
When all this is over the world will see what wonderful democracy our founding fathers created. A nation that is not afraid to expose its flaws no matter how offensive they may be.
All the world will recognize what a truly great nation we are.
Theodore Theodorsen
Manhasset
