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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 4d

Nice grandstanding @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social 🙄

My point was that given the range of possible outcomes (continued backsliding, averted breakdown, full breakdown), America went very quickly from the former to the latter. Cases where the autocrat's playbook has been observed have been much slower.

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 7d

“The bees are in the what now?”

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 9d

Has America’s descent into authoritarianism gone quicker than I expected? Yes

Did I think Americans would be more resistant to democratic backsliding? Omfg yes

Is written criticism of Trump redundant? Yes

Can expert opinion break through the noise? Maybe

Do I think a fascist regime is next? No

Jonathan V. Last @jvl.bsky.social · 9d

My thesis is that no matter how doomer you were in Nov. 2024, we're probably past your worst-case scenario for the first 9 months of this administration.

It's very strange for me to realize I wasn't pessimistic enough.

www.thebulwark.com/p/we-are-in-...

We Are in the Worst-Case Scenario

The November 2024 version of you would be shocked at what the September 2025 version accepts as reality.

www.thebulwark.com

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 12d

Any spontaneous mass protests happening in front of the Supreme Court? No?

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 12d

BREAKING: The Supreme Court rules 6-3 to allow Trump’s “pocket rescission” of $4 billion in foreign aid funding, ruling that it’s unlikely the groups suing have standing to pursue the claim and that Trump’s foreign policy power outweighs their purported harms.

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 13d

The thing about "bad" authoritarianism is the transparent nature of its repression, whereby dictators target their perceived enemies without a plausible justification for doing so.

It is a sign of a weak regime. When you fool no one, you become the fool.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/25/u...

Grand Jury Indicts Longtime Trump Target, Former F.B.I. Director James Comey

www.nytimes.com

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 16d

If you thought Trump's press conference was filled with incompetence, recklessness, and cruelty, that's because being a "mad king" is part of his persona. I try to make sense of Trump's two-headed autocracy in this @thebulwark.com piece from last week...

www.thebulwark.com/p/crazy-or-c...

Crazy or Cunning: The Trump Contradiction

Critics’ two big theories explaining Trump are associated with different kinds of autocrats.

www.thebulwark.com

Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 18d

Does anyone know if there was a single *spontaneous* mass protest anywhere in the United States on Saturday? This is really important for gauging the level of resistance to democratic backsliding…

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 18d

Trump is an agile, cunning, sophisticated would-be autocrat like Orban something something…

Can we stop this charade already? Stop giving him so much credit?

He is a bull trying to rearrange a china shop. He could be easily defeated.

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 18d

Trump criticizes Pam Bondi for not charging his adversaries quickly enough, in a Truth Social post that looks a lot like a DM. truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...

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Reposted by Lee Morgenbesser

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 18d

"The existence of the authoritarian playbook implies that one can be evil but sane. But what motivation would a 'sane' person have for destroying the world’s leading democracy in the first place?"

Crazy or Cunning: The Trump Contradiction

Critics’ two big theories explaining Trump are associated with different kinds of autocrats.

www.thebulwark.com

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 20d

Not only does normalisation cascade, but people generally don’t know a cascade process has even begun.

You could go all the way back to him not releasing his tax records if you wanted to…

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 20d

New category titled “Stupid Shit”

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 20d

In Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew used crafty tactics to suppress the likes of Bloomberg, Far Eastern Economic Review, International Herald Tribune, The Economist, The Straight Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

So why do I keep reading that Orbán invented media suppression 🤬

apnews.com/article/trum...

Trump's moves against the media mirror approaches by authoritarian leaders to silence dissent

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has waged an aggressive campaign against the media unlike any in modern U.S. history, making moves similar to those of authoritarian leaders that...

apnews.com

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 21d

Trump launched a frivolous lawsuit against the most important newspaper in America and it is barely a story today. It has been superseded by the next abuse.

When even textbook examples of authoritarianism are normalized, it is a sign that democratic backsliding is further along than people think.

a man in a suit and tie is giving a speech and says this is not going to end well

ALT: a man in a suit and tie is giving a speech and says this is not going to end well

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Lee Morgenbesser

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 21d

"There are other ways to resolve the contradiction between the wily authoritarian and the mad king. One is to distinguish between what we might call the ‘personal Trump’ and the ‘collective Trump.’"

Crazy or Cunning: The Trump Contradiction

Critics’ two big theories explaining Trump are associated with different kinds of autocrats.

www.thebulwark.com

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 22d

Having written about the "autocrat's playbook" for many years now, I argue in this piece that Trump is fundamentally different to the likes of Chávez, Erdoğan, Fujimori, Modi, Orbán, Ortega, and Putin. His "mad king" persona means that he wrecks just about everything he touches...

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 22d

Could Trump really be canny and mad at the same time?
www.thebulwark.com/p/crazy-or-c...

Crazy or Cunning: The Trump Contradiction

Critics’ two big theories explaining Trump are associated with different kinds of autocrats.

www.thebulwark.com

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 22d

[Failing to remember the past, Tom steps into international cuisine diplomacy once again] 🤪

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 22d

PUBLISHED! I’m delighted to share my @thebulwark.com piece 🤓

I try to reconcile two opposing views of Trump: that he is a clever “playbook autocrat” who is diligently dismantling democracy; or that he is a crazy “mad king” who wrecks everything he touches

Enjoy!

www.thebulwark.com/p/crazy-or-c...

Crazy or Cunning: The Trump Contradiction

Critics’ two big theories explaining Trump are associated with different kinds of autocrats.

www.thebulwark.com

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 23d

From the world of the @nytpitchbot.bsky.social

Trump files a $15 billion dollar lawsuit against us, but is he really trying to censor the press?

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 23d

Historically, would-be autocrats have been normalized abuses because they implemented the playbook *slowly* and *stealthily*

What is most shocking is that Trump is implementing the playbook fast and openly, but there is still no organised resistance to democratic backsliding. Normalization is rife

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 23d

Top Trump officials used Charlie Kirk’s death to threaten liberal groups, making unsubstantiated claims about a “domestic terror” movement. nyti.ms/3ViXyGZ

JD Vance sits at a desk with an American flag behind him. A headline reads: “On Charlie Kirk Show, Vance Talks of Crackdown On Liberal Groups.” Photo credit: Doug Mills/ The New York Times.

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 23d

As I have said a few times, there will be a lag between when America objectively stops being a democracy and when people realise it is no longer a democracy.

That bridge was crossed months ago in my opinion.

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 23d

Genuinely feels like a tipping point for American democracy, if we can keep it.

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 29d

a man with a mullet and a mustache is wearing a wig and making a funny face .

ALT: a man with a mullet and a mustache is wearing a wig and making a funny face .

media.tenor.com

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · 29d

Unconsolidated authoritarianism?

Political scientists inventing diminished subtypes on the fly to classify the United States - and, by extension, implying it is exceptional - is not a good use of our expertise, time, or energy.

We have enough diminished subtypes already...

#rantover

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · Sep 4

I suspect their thinking would only change when state officials walk through the front door of the New York Times. But it will be far too late by then 😑

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · Sep 4

The sooner America's major media companies recognise that the United States has transitioned to authoritarianism, the better news reporting will become.

Everything about this story makes sense if you tell it from the perspective of authoritarian rule, propaganda, and extraterritorial killing.

Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · Sep 4

You know that boat the administration blew up? A former law enforcement official told the NYT the boat seemed to be carrying not drugs but *’migrants *
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/u...

In the former official’s opinion, it was more likely that the vessel was carrying migrants on a human smuggling run. It would be impossible to know for sure, however, given that any evidence of drug smuggling was destroyed in the attack.

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Lee Morgenbesser @lmorgenbesser.bsky.social · Sep 1

My colleague Ferran Martinez i Coma has a three year, full-time postdoc available for his Australian Research Council project "Resilient Elections: How to Strengthen Our Democracies."

Great project ✔️
Awesome supervisor ✔️
Excellent department ✔️
Lovely City ✔️

jobs.smartrecruiters.com/GriffithUniv...

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Grade 1

Company Description: Every institution values excellence. What matters most is why. Griffith was created to be a different type of university. You’ll find we’re about leading research, academic excel...

jobs.smartrecruiters.com

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