Trump’s Authoritarianism Is Getting Worse

You can watch this episode of Right Now With Perry Bacon above or by following this show on YouTube or Substack. You can read a transcript here.

By the end of last year, President Trump was declining politically, with his poll numbers plunging and members of the Republican Party increasingly distancing themselves from him. But Trump isn’t chastened. His moves early in 2026 are as authoritarian as ever, overthrowing the Venezuelan government, launching a virtual siege of Minneapolis, and trying to force Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to resign. On the latest edition of Right Now, University of Denver political scientist Seth Masket explains why many of Trump’s actions are worrisome violations of core democratic norms and values, not simply partisan and ideological disagreements with Democrats and the left. Masket, an expert on political parties, also discusses the early campaigning for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. Neither the candidates who are running nor the issues they might focus on are that clear yet, Masket argues, in part because the party hasn’t totally settled on why it lost in 2024.