Trump claims America craves a strongman — and Republicans are eating it up: analysis

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 26, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

During his speech at the World Economic Forum, President Donald Trump claimed "sometimes, you need a dictator." Republicans continue to back the philosophy one columnist wrote.

In a piece Sunday, Salon's Chauncey DeVega cited Public Religion Research Institute data along with other experts showing that "a large plurality — in some surveys, a substantial majority — of White American Christians exhibit authoritarian personality traits and reject pluralism and multiracial democracy."

While it might be true for MAGA, it's also true of Republicans and conservatives, DeVega wrote.

DeVega rattled off recent examples of Trump's dictatorial behavior from deploying his Justice Department against Minnesota Democrats who oppose the ICE occupation to claiming that he should put the midterm elections on hold.

"Donald Trump is not an ideologue, and possesses no coherent political philosophy," argued DeVega. Where he does excel is in "getting power and keeping it. Trump correctly senses that many people in America and around the world either explicitly want an authoritarian leader or are so dissatisfied with democracy and globalization that they are willing to vote for an autocratic or authoritarian in order to 'shake up the system.' This was true in 2016 when Trump was first elected president, and it remains true 10 years later."

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance’s World Values Survey shows revealed a trend in its most recent data collection. Fewer than half of respondents across 77 countries agree that democracy is important to them, the 2021 survey showed. It has declined from 52.4 percent in 2017. Now, more than 50 percent say they want an authoritarian leader.

However, a 2025 report from the Pew Research Center showed that people are unhappy with the state of their democratic governments. That doesn't extend to dissatisfaction with democracy itself, however.

While there have been a few Republicans willing to stand up to Trump, "very few have stopped supporting him." It likely comes from those who indicated Trump's support in 2024 came from those saying they wanted a leader willing to break the rules "and ignore norms to get things done on behalf of 'people like them,'" said the columnist.

DeVega closed by repeating the adage, "history does not repeat itself, but it frequently rhymes." To the columnist, the Trump era is bringing rhymes that sound "more like a curse."

Read the full piece here.

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