IF you wanted to be a dictator, you could...

A step-by-step guide to dismantling American democracy: seize control of institutions, silence dissent, manipulate justice, embrace dictators, deceive voters, and undermine alliances — all within 100 days. Autocracy, achieved.

B. Jay Cooper

Mar 1, 2025 — 3 min read

Put loyalists in charge of the intelligence services, the Justice Department, the FBI, and the military;
Fire the inspectors general who are responsible for identifying waste, fraud and abuse in your Administration;
Fire the top lawyers in your military who administer the military code of justice and prosecute and defend U.S. service members in military court;
Get out of jail any of your strongest supporters, who already have proven they will take up arms to fight for you;
Blow up the global alliance of like-minded democracies who have protected the world against dictators for 80 years, banding together militarily if necessary to stop the spread of despots;
Get in bed with the worst, murderous dictator in the world who has wanted nothing more than to break up the primary alliance against him and destroy your own country;
Lie to get elected, promising the working people a tax cut, all the while planning to give that tax cut only to the wealthiest in your kingdom;
Deny any knowledge of your sponsors’ written and publicized plan to make over the country’s government from Day One and then follow that blueprint to its letter;
Take over one of the country’s leading, non-partisan arts institutions to control the type of art it offers to the public, one that only reflects your wishes;
Hand over the huge project of reducing the federal budget and organization to the richest man in the world who leads companies regulated by that same federal government and trust him to do the right things;
Lobby, from Day One, for serving beyond the Constitution’s allowed limit;
Lead the effort to rip apart the Constitution which you swore an oath to defend;
Use schoolyard insults against a U.S. ally who is trying to fight off a Russian dictator whose goal is to destroy his country and the United States of America;
Claim to be cutting waste, fraud and abuse but instead eliminate programs voted into law by a duly elected Congress, programs you simply disagree with;
Instill fear into anyone in your own party who dares to say anything that disputes you;
Put out official White House documents that state “Long Live the King,” referring to yourself;
Blackmail a country who is fighting off the United States’ primary enemy into handing over their rare earth minerals in return for your military support;
Limit the media’s access to the President because it doesn’t use the language you prefer.