# Trump's and Republicans' Plans to Complete their Vision of the Unitary Executive Government **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [July 18, 2023, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219 "2023-07-18T16:01:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/1 "2023-07-18T16:01:42Z")
I read this article a few days ago and have been thinking over where best to post it. (Gift link.) [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/17/us/politics/trump-plans-2025.html?unlocked\_article\_code=wqX1OPg8HCqhyugv42wKzN3-9Pw8jR\_3K9pPfaa54ZavhBEXCCC7OK6Lec6yEoRtg1UXWYgoG9tYfZiyu5M57cr343xTm1YQ10udfvGaMvX4AB729I0VnxoG2gSylQMijekEuEGVklA2YR3awkk1c8fbVjGUxWT2L98hGWJzvohRqBCb1zH7qEWhE5mtMn2jqdHeaCvyGUU7UfzZBaFFXdtTITZbfo7U-HA1w\_aAZoScTcvHiX4kMW30eDRqsxOII\_RtU3efUq\_xoeCcEHnVmAF53H1iITnbCvvs-gt24ffc8sJ\_ULjWJR7wUhHZW\_XY0xSFR7wsYJgXx6S6Zvju&smid=url-share](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/17/us/politics/trump-plans-2025.html?unlocked_article_code=wqX1OPg8HCqhyugv42wKzN3-9Pw8jR_3K9pPfaa54ZavhBEXCCC7OK6Lec6yEoRtg1UXWYgoG9tYfZiyu5M57cr343xTm1YQ10udfvGaMvX4AB729I0VnxoG2gSylQMijekEuEGVklA2YR3awkk1c8fbVjGUxWT2L98hGWJzvohRqBCb1zH7qEWhE5mtMn2jqdHeaCvyGUU7UfzZBaFFXdtTITZbfo7U-HA1w_aAZoScTcvHiX4kMW30eDRqsxOII_RtU3efUq_xoeCcEHnVmAF53H1iITnbCvvs-gt24ffc8sJ_ULjWJR7wUhHZW_XY0xSFR7wsYJgXx6S6Zvju&smid=url-share) @susan also shared a very useful summary of Heather Cox Richardson’s interpretations here: > [@NEW Stupid Republican Idea of the Day (Part 3)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/157): > > I’m copying Heather Cox Richardson’s whole note from last night (she permits this) re: a Republican plan to decrease democracy. References are at her Facebook page in the comments under this note. [Heather Cox Richardson](https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson? __cft__ %5B0%5D=AZWZ0zQQ46qHys9MdxCu22Ekt3VjVU7crk4at0_Fyzj7OT6d0LxVpD997T4qXhgmeduoJ6QvbpMyD1nu6UsJXj7miRNKPA-Qi1XO7LtgfZq6bXFZjvwvKGBGcAVBAmi_VajoF0cObLFpk_5H9CoWC9pKMtxhgqpuOnCd1aA5dnuKzw& __tn__ =-UC%2CP-R)[7h](https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/posts/pfbid02egbAXeWQGs122FmoD8Fvq1k5q6cvGE45BrqB5BFqU1xJFuAi1BRV4dPDAnZMRLrnl? __cft__ %5B0%5D=AZWZ0zQQ46qHys9MdxCu22Ekt3VjVU7crk4at0_Fyzj7OT6d0LxVpD997T4qXhgmeduoJ6QvbpMyD1nu6UsJXj7miRNKPA-Qi1XO7LtgfZq6bXFZjvwvKGBGcAVBAmi_VajoF0cObLFpk_5H9CoWC9pKMtxhgqpuOnCd1aA5dnuKzw& __tn__ =%2CO%2CP-R) · July 17, 2023 (Monday) A story in the New York Times today by Jonathan Swan, Charlie Savage, and Maggie Haberman outlined how former president Donald Trump and his allies are planning to create a dictatorship if voters return him to power in 2024. The article talks about… I’m interested to hear if others see what I see, a Republican party eager to complete a plan they’ve had in the works for decades. If so, what should we who are opposed to a fascist government modeled along the lines of Oban’s Hungary do about it? I think it’s especially important to keep in mind that this plot does not require Donald Trump to be the standard bearer. For Republicans, any nominee willing to go along with this program (DeSantis, Tim Scott, et. al) will do. This is meant to be a wide-ranging thread, but I want us to stick to discussing this potential dictatorship coming our way as much as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/2 "2023-07-18T16:04:31Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I’m interested to hear if others see what I see, a Republican party eager to complete a plan they’ve had in the works for decades. If so, what should we who are opposed to a fascist government modeled along the lines of Oban’s Hungary do about it? Clearly this is bad news for democracy. I am curious, however, how the proponents attempt to spin it? Presumably they’re not packaging it as “dictatorship in America,” so what is the rationale they’re using? ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/3 "2023-07-18T16:05:51Z")
In hearing portions of Trump’s recent speeches, he’s not trying to hide it at all. It’s all right out in the open. Ditto DeSantis’s efforts in Florida and Abbott’s in Texas. They’re not hiding their intentions for the entire country. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/4 "2023-07-18T16:07:29Z")
“I’ll consolidate power and do good.” Is that it? Or do they even bother with the “do good” lie? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/5 "2023-07-18T16:10:38Z")
I was hoping we’d find a way to neuter the 2nd Amendment. What I was NOT hoping for is that it came as a byproduct of burning down the entire Constitution. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/6 "2023-07-18T16:10:48Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > “I’ll consolidate power and do good.” Is that it? I think it’s …and hurt all those people we’ve told you to hate. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/7 "2023-07-18T16:14:08Z")
“You, my loyal voters, will be in the in-group that our laws protect but don’t bind. Everyone else will be the out-group the laws bind but don’t protect”. Only later do they found out they are in the out-group with everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/8 "2023-07-18T16:16:49Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > > [@Procrustus](#): > > > > “I’ll consolidate power and do good.” Is that it? > > I think it’s …and hurt all those people we’ve told you to hate. I think it’s more like, “I’ll make America like it’s supposed to be, and remove anyone who stands in my way.” ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/9 "2023-07-18T16:21:47Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I am curious, however, how the proponents attempt to spin it? Presumably they’re not packaging it as “dictatorship in America,” so what is the rationale they’re using? It’s the rationale they’ve been using all along: the government has been taken over by the Deep State, with every government employee fully subservient to the Biden Crime Family, the Chinese Communist Party, The Crazy Radical Leftists, The Trans Perverts, All the Other Perverts, Soros, “Globalists” (wink wink), and _Those People_. They’re really not hiding it. They’re quite open that they’re going to purge everyone they deem insufficiently loyal (to them, of course, not the United States of America), and “sufficiently loyal” is defined as “Does everything we tell them to do, nothing less and nothing more”. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/10 "2023-07-18T16:22:37Z")
If Trump – Og forbid – won in 2024, and succeeded in creating and solidifying the Unitary Executive that he seeks, would the resulting government be more of a: _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/10))_ ETA: I viewed “Autocracy” as a given 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/11 "2023-07-18T16:31:23Z")
So … devil’s advocate here … why didn’t they do this during Trump’s first term? I’m not seeing anything in this plan that requires a Senate supermajority or anything – in fact, they could theoretically even pull this off with Dems holding Congress. Was it just that they hadn’t figured it out yet? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/12 "2023-07-18T16:32:37Z")
Getting SCOTUS into place? ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/13 "2023-07-18T16:33:36Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > So … devil’s advocate here … why didn’t they do this during Trump’s first term? Oh, they tried. You have to do deep dives into the extent to which all government agencies and entities were hollowed out during Trump’s time in office. They were well on their way. They just ran out of time. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/14 "2023-07-18T16:42:14Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > So … devil’s advocate here … why didn’t they do this during Trump’s first term? The short answer is, they did try. Google “trump purges”, and you’ll find many articles about how he tried to install loyalists in as many places as possible. The problem was, they weren’t yet confident enough that just purging everyone would be acceptable to the public, and the institutions in question still had lots of people willing to push back on such blatant politicization of the civil service. So it was a matter of “too little, too late, too slow”. Now? He’s seen that his supporters don’t care about this, and he doesn’t care about anyone else. Purging “disloyal” people will be priority number one, and any legal fallout will be dealt with later. He won’t care that the Undersecretary of Something has a legal claim for improper dismissal, because he knows it will take years for that case to make it through the courts, the worst he’ll have to do is compensate that person with government money, and in the meantime, his hand-picked man is doing the job the way Trump wants it done, the law be damned. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2023, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/15 "2023-07-20T15:22:26Z")
3 posts were merged into an existing topic: [Ivan\_Denisovich Troll posts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivan-denisovich-troll-posts/987306/2) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/16 "2023-07-18T16:50:47Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Presumably they’re not packaging it as “dictatorship in America,” so what is the rationale they’re using? To do away with the “deep state”, whatever the hell that is. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/17 "2023-07-18T16:52:57Z")
The “Deep State” is really just a bunch of smart, dedicated, hard working civil servants who are overwhelmingly loyal to the country and the Rule of Law – not to a party or a politician. A long-time observer can readily understand why a wannabe’ autocrat would see them as a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/18 "2023-07-18T16:55:42Z")
These seeds were planted decade or so ago when the American right embraced elements of the Dark Enlightenment crew. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/19 "2023-07-18T18:04:47Z")
I’ve been doing this a lot lately, Godwinizing threads, surely as a result of just having finished reading _The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich_. But, damn, there are such parallels. Countless times throughout the narrative I shook my head over the kindred spirits the modern GOP had with the German fascists—the unquestioned entitlement to power, the contempt for democracy, the systematic restructuring of government institutions to advance their agenda, the “othering” of those genuinely believed to be lesser citizens. For the longest time (I’m 62) I rolled my eyes at those who called out the GOP’s march to fascism. They were right. This is scary stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219/20 "2023-07-18T18:07:09Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/987306/2): > > Under the traditional model of government a strong national leader cannot serve the country if they are corrupt personally, and Trump is the most personally corrupt figure in many years in a Western country. So you’d be OK with a GOP president essentially abolishing the Democratic party – along with many civil liberties and environmental protections – as long as they weren’t personally corrupt? Charming. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-and-republicans-plans-to-complete-their-vision-of-the-unitary-executive-government/987219.md?page=2)