For years now, former President Donald Trump has been enamored with claims of fraud in the 2020 election and unruly insulting his opponents. The 2024 election season has been no different. As a main party candidate, Trump continues to spread lies about a justified election and his opponent, revealing a troubling pattern of authoritarianism. 

After Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, Donald Trump has stood firmly on the point that election fraud transpired, causing his ultimate electoral and popular vote loss. However, even without proof, Trump continues to peddle the narrative that the 2020 election was unfairly taken from him.

Last week, at a meeting for the National Board of the Fraternal Order of Police in North Carolina, Trump told a group of police officers to be wary of voter fraud and do whatever they can to prevent it. During his address, he told the group of officers that “…we win. Without voter fraud, we win so easily…”.  This rhetoric does not come from a sincere place of concern but from a disgruntled former leader. 

Trump’s continuous pushing of these lies not only means trouble for the nation but signifies authoritarian behavior in the presidential candidate. In the book How Democracies Die, authors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt outline key indicators for authoritarian behavior. Their first piece of criteria is the “rejection of the democratic rules of the game.” Under this criteria, the authors use the question, “Do they attempt to undermine the legitimacy of elections, for example, by refusing to accept credible electoral results?” to determine if a leader is demonstrating authoritarian qualities. 

“Donald Trump speaking at Turning Point Action’s Believers Summit, July 26, 2024, West Palm Beach” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

During the 2024 election season, Trump has been extra concerned with the risk of voter fraud. Which, on its own, may seem like an admirable trait in a candidate. However, within his concerns are thinly veiled voter intimidation tactics. Trump has on several occasions asked his supporters to keep a watchful eye, especially in key battleground states, for signs of voter fraud.

The urging of his supporters to engage in voter intimidation is a sign of authoritarianism. Considering the violent insurrection on January 6th, 2021, Trump’s supporters are more than capable of mobilizing against their opponent, at whatever cost. 

In the years since, there has been no concrete proof that the 2020 election was in any way stolen from Donald Trump. He is challenging a democratic process that ruled against him in the most democratic way possible. His encouragement of his supporters to deny the validated results erodes belief in democracy among his supporters, and the nation as a whole.

The cornerstone of democracy is free and fair elections, which Donald Trump unapologetically opposes the results of. His denial of democracy opens up doors for an affirmation of authoritarianism. 

Election fraud is not the only topic in which Donald Trump’s authoritarian behavior is on display. Trump is certainly no stranger to off-color and often abrasive rhetoric against his opponent. This has been made clear throughout all three of his runs for president as a major party candidate. However, there is a point where his name-calling and insults are direct attacks on the democratic legitimacy of his opponent’s values.

Over the years, Trump has used social media to express his unfiltered thoughts and opinions about his opponents. The 2024 election cycle has been no exception to this, as he has utilized his own personal social media website “Truth Social” and his newly reinstated platform on “X” (formally Twitter) to share his thoughts on current Democrat party nominee Kamala Harris. On these social media websites, Trump has on more than several occasions called Harris a “comrade,” “Marxist,” and “communist” and has denied her intelligence, ability to govern, and on one occasion, referred to her as an “election weaponizing Marxist”. 

Trump’s rhetoric towards his opponent is not typical candidate banter, it is downright attacking Harris on false notions. Trump’s continuous labeling of Harris as a communist falls under another one of the indicators of authoritarian behavior; “denial of the legitimacy of political opponents”. Trump’s insistence that Harris aligns herself with an ideology that is widely believed in America to be against democracy is a sure sign of the denial of her legitimacy as a political opponent. 

Additionally, Levitsky and Ziblatt ask the question, “Do they [political actors] claim their rivals constitute an existential threat, either to national security or to the prevailing way of life?”. Throughout several of his social media posts and interviews, Trump claims that Harris’ “radical” policies, specifically regarding the border, will endanger Americans. His rambling that Harris has made America dangerous, is not a criticism of her policies, but fear-mongering. His accusations that a differing ideology from his opposition will ruin the nation, again, exhibit signs of authoritarianism. 

Instead of criticizing Harris’ policies, he attacks her character and loyalty to the nation. He tries to pin Harris as an existential threat to American values. Rather than engaging with her ideas, he attempts to delegitimize them as threats to safety and democracy. He is blatantly eroding any signs of democratic competition by writing her off as a radical candidate who has anything but the country’s best interest at heart. 

Trump’s rhetoric about voter fraud and his opponent Kamala Harris is on full blast during this election season. While some may appreciate his passion, and others roll their eyes in disgust, everybody listens, and news networks amplify his message. Trump’s words are not just typical jabs at his opponent or genuine concerns for the state of our elections.

They are signs of authoritarianism.

Between urging his voters and police officers to mobilize and ensure no “fraud” occurs and calling his opponent terms synonymous with anti-democratic values, it is clear that Donald Trump exhibits the signs of an authoritarian leader.

Considering that January 6th, 2021, was a direct result of his election fraud rhetoric, the American public should be worried. Whether he ends up winning the election or not, Trump’s lies are a direct representation of authoritarianism at its finest, and his candidacy spells trouble for the future of democracy.