Throughout our nation’s history, only one president could claim the unique honor of having been elected to the presidency twice in nonconsecutive terms. Grover Cleavland, when in 1893 he made due on his wife’s promise to return to the white house in four years. However as of November 6th 2024, he has lost what was for most people the most memorable trait of his presidency. Donald Trump was re-elected as the 47th president of the United States of America, defeating Democrat Kamala Harris with the majority of the popular vote. Sending a clear message to the nation that Trump’s brand of MAGA politics is far from a passing fad. 

Throughout this campaign season, the Democrats have assigned many labels to the former, now upcoming president. With labels like felon, fascist, misogynistic, and threat to democracy being thrown around as frequently as possible by the Harris campaign. However, there is one label that provides a much better insight into the nature of Donald Trump as a political actor. That of an American demagogue, born out of the age of information and misinformation. This piece will demonstrate this, by first defining a demagogue and giving historical examples, then highlighting how Trump matches these characteristics. So as to hopefully provide the reader with an easily digestible way to understand the dangers, and  strategies of demagogues in democracies. 

What is a demagogue ?

A demagogue as used in a modern sense is defined as a political agitator who appeals to passions, prejudices, and sufferings of the people to advance their political goals or personal power. Despite the negative association that the term has gained in modern verbiage, the term demagogue did not originally have such a connotation. It was Aristotle who used the term to define an Athenian named Cleon. He gave a speech calling for the slaughter of every man in a city that had rebelled against Athens. Aristotle described the man as “ the first who shouted on the public platform, who used abusive language and who spoke with his cloak girt about him, while all the others used to speak in proper dress and manner ”. Cleon may have very well been the first demagogue in the history of democracy, but this moment would echo throughout milenia. As this spirit of Cleon would linger throughout history and across the world. 

How does a demagogue attain and cement power?

Some of the most recognizable men in history find themselves with the label of demagogue, such as Adolf Hitler, and Benito Mussolini. Despite how often Trump is compared to a fascist these men do not provide a useful comparison to him for the purpose of this piece. In contrast, men like Recep Erdogan are better reflections of Trump like demagogues and their rise to power. Erdogan started his political career as the mayor of Istanbul. However his term came to an end after being convicted for inciting racial hatred, and being banned from public office after a speech that included a poem that read “ The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers “.  After founding a new Islamist party, the AKP, he would make his way to the position of prime minister after a few elections. However, this was only after his party amended the constitution to allow him to run. After a few years in power, he would use his broad support to begin prosecuting army generals and journalists after being accused of attempting to start a coup. Then in 2010, after winning a referendum, he reshaped the constitution to allow his government more control over the army and the courts. While nearing the end of his term, he would run and become Turkiyes president so as to bypass his term limit as prime minister. Traditionally a ceremonial role, he expanded his office’s powers to include a veto, and the right to appoint judges. After an attempted coup he would combine the powers of the prime minister and presidency. Starting a trend where every election cycle, he would win, grant his government more powers, and repeat the process, with only recent declines in support dampening these efforts.

What makes Donald Trump a demagogue?

There are many aspects about Trump that warrant such a title. To draw comparisons to the Erdogan example, they both utilize religious populism for a strong base. When first elected they both were outsiders to the political norm and rode in on waves of anti-establishment rhetoric. They both use vitriolic language to their “enemy” group and expose that they themselves are the only ones who can fix the nation’s problems.  The difference is the timeline each is on, as Erdogan has already cemented his power. Meanwhile, Trump is still in the promises phase of his development as a demagogue autocrat. Despite this, that doesn’t mean he has not had the chance to define himself as one, especially in the lens of political theory. As Levitsky and Ziblatt lay out 4 indicators of an autocrat most commonly seen in demagogic leaders. 1st, rejection or weak commitment to the rules of the democratic game. After his 2020 loss Donald Trump proved he has no great love for our systems of election. He did everything in his power to overturn the results of a free and fair election, including but not limited to the incision of a riot during the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory on January 6th 2021, so that is an easy pont there. 2nd, denial of legitimacy of political opponents, this one is another easy point for Trump. You cannot get 5 minutes into one of his rallies without hearing about how Democrat leaders are marxists whose only goal is to destroy the US  and everything Americans love. 3rd, Toleration or encouragement of violence, January 6th is once again a great example. As Trump would tell his supporters that they have to fight or else they won’t have a country anymore, in response to his electoral loss. 4th and lastly, Readiness to curtail civil liberties of opponents, including media. This has only become notable during his campaign, where he made frequent threats to use his powers to arrest his political opponents. As well as use the army in blue cities to establish law and order. As you can see from these examples, Trump is at the very least a threat to political and democratic norms. At worst, he is an unequivocal autocrat elevated to the office of the presidency on a parade of lies, prejudice, fear, and mistrust in an establishment that has failed the American people one too many times. 

Conclusion

As of November 14th, Donald Trump and the republican party have gained control of all branches of government. With a majority in both the house and the senate, as well as a majority in the supreme court. It serves as a reminder to the world that even the foremost liberal superpower is not immune to the worst vices of a democratic society. To fall under the control of those who echo the sentiment of a long dead Athenian.