EXTRA: This Is Straight-Up Dictatorship

TUCSON — It only takes a minority of heedless people who blindly follow a demagogue like dumb, fearful buffalo to trample democracy. Hitler and his Brown Shirts took control of the Reichstag to impose tyranny in 53 days.

Mussolini's Black Shirts only had to bully a king into ceding total power. Like Hitler, he was well-read with military seasoning. Both dictators had grand plans to rule an orderly world under fascist domination.

America's "strong man" is a barely literate self-obsessed draft dodger who seems more like Caligula every day. His unelected sidekick, Elon Musk, a Bozo the Clown with a chainsaw, shreds the U.S. government and tells people in other countries how to vote.

The Führer conquered Germany with a few newspapers and crackling radio signals. Donald Trump's big lies rile up his Red Hats with AI-enhanced anti-social media, high-tech computer chicanery and oligarchs' vast cash reserves.

Waiting until 2026 is too late. America is threatened with history's most ignominious capitulation of free people. Urgent action needs to scare the crap out of every faithless legislator and elected official, from Congress on down to local magistrates.

No one with half an eye on the news needs to see more of Trump's wrecking crew. A self-crowned king is moving to "flood the zone" at breakneck speed. If he is not stopped soon, there will likely be no do-over.

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David Cay Johnston watched Trump's mob-style tactics over decades at the New York Times. His first alarm was a book in 2019: "It's Even Worse Than You Think." Now on his own, his unvarnished D.C. Report dug deeply into detail.

"Dictatorship is taking shape right in front of our eyes," he wrote last week. "Trump will do more, much more, to consolidate power, but make no mistake: As of Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, Trump became our de facto dictator."

Trump fired the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, who is black. His choice is retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, who the president claims once told him: “I love you, sir. I think you’re great, sir. I’ll kill for you, sir.”

He sacked the heads of Naval operations and the Coast Guard, both women. He named new military lawyers likely to condone unconstitutional or illegal orders. With Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon, he is ready to seize foreign territory to enrich himself and his inner circle.

Attorney General Pam Bondi made clear that the Justice Department works for him. Kash Patel, a loony loose cannon at the FBI, can now act on the published enemies list he denied having during evasive sworn testimony in Senate hearings.

A foulmouthed acting immigration "czar" threatens to jail mayors and governments who oppose Stephen Miller's planned inhumane forced removal of millions, many with a right to remain in America under due-process laws.

Most everyone, including among Trump's hardcore zealots, faces soaring prices, slashed healthcare, and impoverished retirement. Schools are to be dumbed down. Vital medical research has been abruptly halted. Plagues potentially worse than Covid loom on the horizon.

In earlier days, global crises could be brought under control, even after a world war that took 50 to 85 million lives and left much of Europe's ancient heritage in smoking rubble. No longer.

At worst, a Doctor Strangelove in America, a cornered despot in East Asia or Middle East mayhem could trigger nuclear winter. More likely, China could export its harsh rule until climate collapse removes Earth's most destructive species.

Bleak? Yes. "Wake the Fuck Up" is no longer a half-amused slogan dating from when the threat was only George W. Bush.

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This is no longer about two opposing political parties, which were not part of the founders’ plans. Republicans now march in a lockstep. Democrats squabble under their "big tent," divided by side issues. An outmoded Electoral College favors the former.

Margins were close in key states. Persuasive conversation among families and friends can sway independents. Explaining what is at stake can energize the 36 percent who did not vote in November.

Sustained public uproar reminds legislators they are sworn under oath to represent all constituents. Constant vigils outside their home offices let them know they will lose their place at the public trough if they don't. Peaceful street demonstrations are crucial.

The Republicans' approach is to "flood the zone with shit." An overwhelming response needs to point out what stinks. Firsthand reportage by reliable sources helps produce articulate detailed letters, emails and phone calls. Staff members log each one.

A groundswell is building fast across the country, in big cities and backwaters. When angry people take to the streets, others put aside cautious reluctance and join them.

Ancient Greeks posited that benevolent dictatorship is the best form of government. Over three millennia, we have seen the opposite. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Authoritarian control had some benefits. Grasping plutocracy has none.

Mussolini at least made trains run on time. After a month of deadly airplane crashes and near misses, the first in America since 2013, Trump continues to gut the Federal Aviation Administration, one of Musk's particular peeves.

Republicans aim to raise the $36 trillion debt ceiling by $4 trillion, while giving a permanent tax cut to the rich approaching $5 trillion. To cover that, a planned $2 trillion slash in federal spending and ruinous tariffs portend misery for all but the richest.

Until November, foreign investors poured money into booming U.S. stock markets. They have sunk into the red since the Trump's "day one" flurry of follies. His approval ratings have plummeted to an historic low for incoming presidents.

Already, voters see the opposite of his impossible campaigns promises. Executive orders cannot repeal the laws of gravity. Egg prices soar because of bird flu Trump is doing little to contain. Social security, Medicare and Medicaid for the poor are at risk.

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When I went abroad for the Associated Press in 1967, "mutual assured destruction," aptly known as MAD, limited hostilities between Washington and Moscow to tough talk, along with competition for United Nations votes. China lurked in the background.

Recent Mort Reports delve deep into today's state of play in the wider world. But two splotches on the map reflect the change between then and now.

Israel was the hotspot. A noble David badly needed stones to fend off a powerful Goliath of united Arab neighbors. Hard bargaining had forged a Jewish homeland, with defined territory for Palestinians forced to pull up deep roots and move elsewhere.

I've watched it evolve, covering decades of war and peace. Today, a substantial minority wants an uncorrupt democracy and peaceful coexistence with an autonomous Palestine. But ruling hardliners want to settle the West Bank and reoccupy Gaza.

I just spent time with a very smart man, a devout Jewish American with decent human values, generous with his wealth. No amount of friendly discussion shakes his belief. The monstrous Hamas invasion made Israel's Gaza onslaught essential.

He bridles at the indefinable term, genocide. I tried to cut through generalities. Rep. Ilhan Omar supports a democratic Israel but reviles civilian slaughter in Gaza. Rep. Rashid Tlaib, at the opposite extreme, demands a river-to-the-sea Palestine.

"Right" and "wrong" are subjective in the unholy land. Yet facts matter. If Trump colonizes Gaza with U.S. troops to build a resort, hell will break loose in a region he destabilized by scrapping the Iran nuclear accord. That would inflame global antisemitism.

Nothing better illustrates the disconnect between America and the wider world. Many voters shunned Kamala Harris to punish the administration for not curbing Benjamin Netanyahu. Now he has carte blanche, with the United States on his side.

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Ukraine reflects the epitome of Trump's reckless statecraft and boundless greed. Its fate is now an existential showdown between a stable free world and an authoritarian free-for-all where borders are nothing more than lines on a map.

Republicans blocked impeachment in 2017 for Trump's attempt to extort dirt on Joe Biden. The crippling three-year war supported by U.S. and European aid has Russia on the ropes. Even with foreign troops, it faces quagmire. Sanctions bite hard at home.

NATO stands firm with two new members and mostly paid-up dues. Still, Trump sides with Vladimir Putin, as he further undercuts NATO. He wants members to pay 5 percent of GDP, up from 2 percent, and threatens to bring U.S. forces home.

Europe, even Ukraine, excluded from negotiations in Saudi Arabia. Hegseth told allies in Munich that Ukraine was their problem. Trump blames the invasion on Zelensky. The United States just voted against a U.N. vote to condemn Russia.

Trump insists that Ukraine pay back U.S. aid he calculates at three times its actual total of $120 billion. He demands half the income from its mineral and rare-earth exports until they reach $500 billion. Mafia racketeers take a smaller cut for protection money.

An American envoy to Kyiv pressed Zelensky to sign the agreement, warning Trump would be angry if he didn't. He refused. French President Emmanuel Macron made a quick trip to Washington to find common ground.

On Monday at the White House, Macron lavished praise on "Dear Donald." He listened to his host boast about "the best month in our country's history" and how he was ending "Biden's war." Then he got to the point, in English so no one missed the message.

Russia was the aggressor, and any settlement needed Zelensky's accord. Because conflict in Ukraine threatens all of Europe, a peace deal must be permanent. European troops can have a symbolic presence in Ukraine when hostilities cease.

When Trump claimed European aid was a loan to be repaid, Macron touched his arm and replied, “No, in fact, to be frank. We paid. We paid 60 percent of the total effort." Trump was undeterred: "But they get their money back, we don’t, and now we do, but that’s only fair.”

At the end, a French reporter asked what post-war role America would play. "I think we've done enough," Trump said, before veering off into a non sequitur about how well the French had restored Notre Dame.

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Republican aims were laid out in Project 2025, which candidate Trump duplicitously disavowed. Russell Vought, a force behind it, is back at the Office of Management and Budget to carry them out. And a president who proclaims he is king is doing far worse.

Those of us who warned at the outset of an intended coup d'etat felt akin to Cassandra, the Greek mythological priestess who foresaw calamity yet was laughed off as delusional. It is not yet too late to resist. Soon it will be.