Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Elections 2024 How it begins...

Donald Trump and his allies have begun mapping out specific plans for using the federal government to punish critics and opponents should he win a second term, with the former president naming individuals he wants to investigate or prosecute and his associates drafting plans to potentially invoke the Insurrection Act on his first day in office to allow him to deploy the military against civil demonstrations.

Details: The Economist said in its annual "World Ahead" guide Thursday that another four years of Trump in the White House would be "more damaging" than his previous term.

"China and its friends would rejoice over the evidence that American democracy is dysfunctional" and Beijing "could easily miscalculate over Taiwan, with catastrophic consequences."
And Russian President Vladimir Putin "would have an incentive to fight on in Ukraine and to pick off former Soviet countries such as Moldova or the Baltic states," according to the outlet.
Of note: The "greatest threat" Trump poses "is to his own country," the Economist argues. The "moral authority" of the U.S. would decline "because America will have voted him in while knowing the worst."

While "pursuing his enemies," Trump "will wage war on any institution that stands in his way, including the courts and the Department of Justice," the Economist said.

Scholars, Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans are asking anew how much Mr. Trump resembles current strongmen abroad and how he compares to authoritarian leaders of the past. Perhaps most urgently, they are wondering whether his rhetorical turn into more fascist-sounding territory is just his latest public provocation of the left, an evolution in his beliefs or the dropping of a veil.

“There are echoes of fascist rhetoric, and they’re very precise,” said Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor at New York University who studies fascism. “The overall strategy is an obvious one of dehumanizing people so that the public will not have as much of an outcry at the things that you want to do.”

Mr. Trump’s shift comes as he and his allies devise plans for a second term that would upend some of the long-held norms of American democracy and the rule of law.

These ambitions include using the Justice Department to take vengeance on his political rivals, plotting a vast expansion of presidential power and installing ideologically aligned lawyers in key positions to bless his contentious actions.

Mr. Trump’s allies dismiss the concerns as alarmism and cynical political attacks.