Donald Trump has promised to be a dictator on “day one” of his administration. Based on his already-announced plans and those in process, Trump, like other autocrats and authoritarians, means what he says. His words and statements should be understood both literally and figuratively. Trump’s (and the Republican Party’s and the “conservative” movement’s) models of leadership are Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán. Trump and his MAGA presidential administration and movement will attempt to remake American society in their mold — and do so very quickly.
Trump’s White Christian voters are the base of his support. He would not have been elected without them. Professor Ryan Burge, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, told The Salt Lake Tribune, “It’s hard to overcome the white God gap…in a place like Pennsylvania or Michigan and Wisconsin.” White Christians are now literally and metaphorically Trump’s biblical "arrows" and "armor." For example, on Jan. 6 White Christian extremists were in the vanguard of the attack on the Capitol and attempt to end America’s multiracial pluralistic democracy. Christian extremists also play a central role in the right-wing paramilitary and “militia” movement more broadly. Research by Robert P. Jones of PRRI shows that White Christians (specifically, members of the White Christian Right and Christian Nationalists) are more likely to be authoritarian and to endorse the use of political violence than are other Americans.
