President Trump has repeatedly derided mainstream media and judges whose rulings he doesn’t like.
Clearly, he would like to be rid of such encumbrances, as have other world leaders for whom he has expressed admiration – like Vladimir Putin, who rules Russia with an iron fist; President Xi of China, who represses dissent more than any of his recent predecessors; President Erdogan of Turkey, who has overseen the transformation of that country from an imperfect democracy to an almost perfect autocracy; and President el-Sisi of Egypt, who seized power in a military coup.
Trump is not a dictator, but he is a dictator apprentice, and recently, he enrolled in advanced training, inviting President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines to visit him at the White House.
Trump apparently admires Duterte’s method of dealing with suspected drug dealers by killing them summarily, thereby bypassing the inefficient custom known as due process of law.
Trump has completed the first hundred days of his apprenticeship with distinction. He is well on his way to achieving his goal, though there is still some risk that his employers will fire him.
Edward Packard
Durango
