Here's what I'm convinced of: like all authoritarians, Donald Trump's embrace of war and regime changes is nothing more than his addiction to power and control — an addiction that's only going to get worse.
This is someone who spent years promising not to get the United States involved in any new wars (especially in the Middle East) or in the business of regime changes, yet he's now attacked Venezuela, and is trying to remove the current government in Cuba — all within just the past few weeks.
He got a taste of that kind of power, and it's clear he loves it.
You've seen it with his use of ICE and the National Guard. He craves the power to use these forces at his will, to wield any authority he has — especially if it involves carrying an assault weapon or making things go "boom" — to intimidate, bully, or force others he opposes into doing what he wants.
Which shouldn't surprise anyone, because that's who Trump has been his entire life: a weak, insecure bully who's always abused his power to try to hurt others and get what he wants.
This is why, when MAGA says it's unfair to compare him to Hitler, it both is and isn't. It's not as if these horrible dictators in our history books started out as what they eventually became. They grew into it over time, becoming more dangerous, monstrous, and hungry for power. As I've said before, Trump's not Hitler — but he's a hell of a lot closer to being Hitler than he is to Ronald Reagan.
The only thing keeping Trump in any semblance of a check on his power is the Constitution, which, each and every day, he's trying to gut and erode to make himself the singular decision-maker and wielder of power in this country — just like every other dictator in history has done.
From Vladimir Putin to Xi Jinping, and practically every other autocrat walking this Earth right now, it's the same playbook:
1. Attack the media.
2. Target and silence political opponents.
3. Consolidate power.
4. Use the military as their personal security force to target those they oppose.
5. Manipulate their followers with over-the-top nationalism.
6. Erode trust in democracy to rig elections.
7. Label anyone who opposes you as an enemy of the country.
8. Gaslight the public and call anything negative that's reported as "fake."
Everything Trump does is straight out of How to Be a Dictator 101.
During his first administration, he had adults in the room who worked against these urges — at least initially. But as time went on, and he purged these adults from his administration, towards the end of that first term he was largely supported by the same type of sycophants and clowns we're witnessing in Trump 2.0.
Now, this president doesn't have those people checking his worst urges. Instead, he's surrounded by people using him as their useful idiot, manipulating him into doing what they want, pandering to his insecurities, and watching him grow into an even bigger monster that history will look back on with shame and embarrassment. Nobody will remember him, and they couldn't care less about his legacy. As long as the unhinged buffoon supports policies in the interests of these con artists, that's all they care about.
It's a classic example of The Emperor's New Clothes.
This is why the midterms are so incredibly important. We have to establish a branch of our government that will rein in Trump's power because he's only going to get worse — especially in 2027 and 2028, when he'll be desperate to stay in the headlines during a period at the end of a presidency when the current president typically steps back to let the next candidate become the face of the party — something we know Trump will never be able to cope with.
Donald Trump will spend the last two years of his presidency doing whatever he can to ensure he's the dominant figure in the headlines every day, that he's the one getting all the attention. This makes him very dangerous, because we've all seen he's willing to start a war largely to distract from the Epstein files and his failing economy.
So, get used to this. I hate to point out the obvious, but it will get worse before it gets better. Once these types of tyrants get a taste of this power, it only escalates. They only become more unhinged. It only gets uglier.
The good news is November isn't that far away, and we have the chance to effectively end Trump's unchecked power for half of his presidency. To do as our Founding Fathers intended: have our legislative, co-equal branch of government serve as a system of checks and balances on the executive.
