Trump: Dictator or Dictator Lite?

“Dictators who surround themselves with a cult of personality tend to drift off into a world of their own, confirmed in their delusions by the followers who surround them.  They end up making all major decisions on their own.  They see enemies everywhere, at home and abroad.  As hubris and paranoia take over, they seek more power to protect the power they already have.” – How to Be a Dictator

In May 2026, cryptocurrency investors gifted a 22-foot golden statue of President Donald J. Trump to the Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami, Florida.  This follows similar acts of aggrandizement, including the renaming of the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC, where Trump chose to add his own name in front of that of the assassinated President.  Other Presidents, too, have plastered their names on everything from schools and federal buildings to battleships, monuments, memorials, and, of course, their presidential libraries.  All to assert their significant place in history.  Unfortunately, with only a year and a half into his final term, Trump is not yet finished with his vainglory.  A triumphal arch is in the works to commemorate the 250^th Anniversary of the country's founding, to be informally known as the Arc de Trump, of course. 

But symbols and imagery aren’t the only important facets of the cult of personality.  Propaganda and rhetoric are used to manage the perception of a strong public mandate.  This faux appearance of popular support is further cemented through the suppression of the media and self-censorship.  Religious-like idolatry ensues as the followers morph into sycophants.  Finally, the hubris of a leader’s own narcissism will lead him to shun the support of dissenters, as Trump has already done by disowning anyone interested in the Epstein files.  

In Frank Dikotter’s 2019 book, “How to Be a Dictator”, Dikotter provides an introductory biography of eight of the most notorious dictators in the 20^th century, detailing how they rose and how they fell.  Known as the Duce, the Führer, the Chairman, and the Great Leader, many chose monikers to flex their power.  Through the cult of political personality and the use of terror, these dictators rode the wave of popular support, some enduring for decades before their demise. 

In most instances, a dictator seizes and controls a country by force.  Mussolini’s paramilitary unit was known as the Blackshirts, while the Brownshirts backed Hitler.  Both employed violence through militarized rule.  Then, by disallowing opposition, many achieved a one-party state status, with most following the path of communism.  China’s Xi, for instance, is basically a president for life due to the removal of term limits.  Trump, himself, has repeatedly teased a third term, deluded by the belief in his ongoing appeal. 

Others exploit economic crises by appealing to the fears of the citizenry, with claims of hearing their pain.  By taking advantage of the weak governments that preceded them, dictators are quick to fill the vacuum left in their wake.  Loyalty tests and purging are often found in a dictatorship through fear, where dissidents who fail to march with the party are targeted for removal.  Trump's recent removal of party disloyalists from their perches in Congress sends a stern message to the rest that only bootlicking will be allowed.  Yet in the age of donor control and gerrymandering, the role of the citizen voter is already becoming less necessary. 

Trump, himself, presaged that he would be a Dictator only on Day 1, doling out more Executive Orders in his first 100 days than any President before him.  From shutting the border to rolling back climate change initiatives, tariffs, and drilling for oil, a rare few have been codified into law, meaning a Democrat president would likely employ their own use of Executive Orders to overturn Trump directives. 

Like most dictators, the result of their reigns often ends in instability for the country, systemic corruption, and even mass deaths.  Trump may not be a dictator in the vein of Hitler or Mussolini, but with Americans who identify as Republicans at a record low of 28 percent, Trump may have overplayed his hand with his aggressive tactic.  As such, Republican control may be thwarted for decades to come. 

In fact, after barely more than a year in office, the MAGA coalition that put Trump into office has turned into a house of cards.  The unexpected alliance of independents, minority men, libertarians, and the young has already bailed in record numbers.  As is often the case when engaging in the politics of personality, the arrogance and fear that the dictator employs will eventually turn and bite them.