Dictators don’t go quietly. They orchestrate fear, silence dissent, and distract with spectacle. Trump’s moves in 2025 suggest he’s not planning to lose power — no matter the cost. MORE FROM THOM 📃 Thom Hartmann's 'Daily Take' Newsletter: https://HartmannReport.com 🎦 Watch a full program re-run anytime: https://www.patreon.com/thomhartmann 🎧 Audio Podcast: https://thom.tv FOLLOW THOM 📕 AMAZON: https://amzn.to/2hS4UwY 📝 DAILY TAKE: https://hartmannreport.com 👥 FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ThomHartmannProgram/ 📸 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/Thom_Hartmann 🎦 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/thomhartmann 🐦 X: https://www.twitter.com/thom_hartmann Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hartmannreport.com 🌐 WEBSITE: https://www.thomhartmann.com 📺 YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=thomhartmann 👕 Merchandise: https://teespring.com/stores/thom-hartmann-program-2 🍺 Thom Merchandise: https://teespring.com/thom-hartmann-mug?pid=522&cid=101870 ABOUT THE PROGRAM The Thom Hartmann Program is today’s go-to progressive talk show for sharp takes on politics—liberal, conservative, and everything in between—featuring lively conversations with guests, callers, and the occasional fiery debate. #MoreFromThom Trump is starting to lose big, from courtrooms, to the press increasingly calling him out, to millions of Americans showing up in the streets every few weeks. As anybody who’s ever lived or worked in an autocratic state (I have) can tell you, a strongman or wannabe dictator is most dangerous when he’s on his back foot. Trump’s tariffs have put America on the verge of a serious inflationary recession, the Supreme Court and multiple lower courts have repeatedly ruled against him, his public approval polling is in the crapper, and even conservative publications and former Republican politicians (free from the strictures of an upcoming primary) are openly calling him out (including in Murdoch publications). The first lesson they teach in dictator school is that “there must be an enemy within.” Trump embraced this from the first day of his campaign for president when he attacked “Mexican rapists and murderers” he said were “invading” America. In the years since, his enemies list has grown to include trans students, drag queens, Black protestors, Black legislators, majority-Black “shithole countries,” teachers, colleges, scientists, public health officials, Democrats, and NATO. The second is that “big, splashy attacks on the country are excellent opportunities to gain popularity and seize more power.” Just ask George W. Bush. After his brother Jeb, then governor of Florida, purged 57,000 Black voters from that state’s voter rolls, George “won” the 2000 election in that state by a mere 537 votes, which was immediately challenged in court by the Gore campaign. The state Supreme Court ordered a recount that, according to The New York Times, would have led to a clear Al Gore victory. Meanwhile, the story of Jeb’s massive voter purge was being shared around the world by the BBC, as people realized George was an illegitimate president. His poll numbers were about as bad as they could get. And then came 9/11. The attack on America brought the country together to support the unpopular president, kicking his popularity as measured by Gallup above 90 percent, higher than any other president in the history of polling. Similarly, after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, then-President Bill Clinton’s approval rating jumped from below 50 percent all the way up into the 80 percent range. And, while there wasn’t polling at the time, it’s safe to assume the same thing happened to FDR after Pearl Harbor in 1941. Which is why the following stories, each reported independently but in aggregate reflecting a dangerous trend, are so alarming: — Although the first two months of 2025 showed a shocking 25 percent increase in terrorism and politically-targeted violent attacks, with an average of 3 attacks a day and more than 400 people murdered by domestic terrorists during the past two years, Trump shut down 24 different projects tracking terrorist threats in the US. — As Trump is deploying more and more federal law enforcement officers (particularly ICE) and they’re often hiding their identities and faces, he killed off the federal database that tracked federal police misconduct. — Almost half of the nation’s FBI agents who’d been available to work on counterterrorism efforts have been ordered to drop their investigations and, instead, pursue undocumented aliens. ✔ Amazon links are affiliate links