Presidential Historian Warns Americans About Trump's Win: “We May in 32 Days Have a Dictator”

Authoritarianism rather than democratic leadership is something that Donald Trump's comments often referred to. The fact that he is vying for a second term as president concerns many people for this reason. People have also been comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler because of his apparent dictatorship ideology, which has become more frequent since his 2016 campaign. Now, Michael Beschloss, a presidential historian, has claimed that recent remarks made by Trump and JD Vance suggest that America might be on the verge of dictatorship.

Beschloss was speaking with MSNBC host Jonathan Lemire when the host said, "The New York Times had some terrific reporting this week about Trump's threats to prosecute, to jail his political opponents, suggesting the DOJ did work on his behalf to limited success in his first term, but now he'd be able to stock his administration with loyalists who would carry it out further and emboldened by the Supreme Court ruling, his executive power has only grown." As reported by Raw Story, Lemire asked, "How worried are you that, were he to win, he'd take this to a very un-American place?"

To this, the historian replied, "Extremely worried. This is something we've never seen before in American history. Major party nominees saying, 'Elect me, and I'm going to use the DOJ, the Defense Department, against my domestic enemies, jail people." He added, "What we've had for over two centuries of a presidency, operating more or less within the boundaries of the law. Now, with the help of the Supreme Court saying a president is immune from prosecution, we may, in 32 days, have a dictator." Several other Democrats have also said that Trump would turn American democracy into a dictatorship.

Earlier, Liz Cheney preferred Democrats to win in the 2024 elections rather than members of her party, as she worried that the U.S. was inadvertently heading toward dictatorship. “I believe very strongly in those principles and ideals that have defined the Republican party, but the Republican party of today has made a choice, and they haven’t chosen the constitution,” she said, as reported by The Guardian. “And so I do think it presents a threat if the Republicans are in the majority in January 2025," she added. Cheney held the position of vice-chair of the U.S. House committee that examined the tragic Capitol attack.

Speaking of Trump, she also said, “The tools that he is using are tools that we’ve seen used by authoritarians, fascists, tyrants around the world. The things that he has said and done, in some ways, are so outrageous that we have become numb to them. What I believe is the cause of our time, is that we not become numb, that we understand the warning signs, that we understand the danger, and that we ignore partisan politics to stop him.” She later added, “We’re facing a situation with respect to the 2024 election where it’s an existential crisis."