The ninth rule is to use the power of government to spread propaganda, and Trump is doing just that: banners with the president's face hanging from federal buildings; airport video ads in which Homeland Security Secretary Noem blames Democrats for the government shutdown; federal websites that disseminate the president's political messages. These actions violate provisions of the Anti-Lobbying Act, the Hatch Act, and laws that prohibit the use of federal funds to influence legislation before Congress. Taxpayer-funded agencies must provide nonpartisan services, and they must remain that way.
The tenth rule of the authoritarian scheme—the most dangerous rule of all—is to rig future elections. Trump is using three tactics here. First, it is trying to consolidate state voter registration files into a national database so they can be more easily manipulated in the next election. Second, he is trying to gerrymander state congressional districts to increase Republican power in the House. That goal could be furthered by the Supreme Court, which is considering a case that would gut the remainder of the Voting Rights Act, allowing states to disenfranchise voters and gain dozens of new Republican seats. Third, he is trying to eliminate mail-in voting. On Election Day, it's easy to manipulate voter turnout by moving polling places, understaffing them, and intimidating people in lines. But these tactics don't work with mail-in voting.
Experts on how democracies die say there are actions that can stop the authoritarian takeover from intensifying. One action is strong citizen resistance in the first year. People must know and show that what is happening violates norms, laws and the Constitution, and this is unacceptable. That's why I'm so excited about the No Kings protest.
