# What factors would be needed to turn the United States into a dictatorship? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 26, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941 "2017-06-26T21:57:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941/41 "2017-06-27T22:46:05Z")
I get the impression that some folks would be disappointed if Trump didn’t seriously attempt to go full-out dictator, just like some folks were probably disappointed that Obama didn’t try to take people’s guns away or lock people up in FEMA camps and have black helicopters doing black-helicopter things. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941/42 "2017-06-27T23:00:01Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I get the impression that some folks would be disappointed if Trump didn’t seriously attempt to go full-out dictator, just like some folks were probably disappointed that Obama didn’t try to take people’s guns away or lock people up in FEMA camps and have black helicopters doing black-helicopter things. Personally I think that Trump thinks he already _is_ a dictator, and is constantly surprised at how _despite_ being our supreme leader he’s not able to get the (surface level) adulation and support that his heroes in certain other countries do. As I implied in my first post in this thread, there are some serious structural obstacles (like term limits) that would have to come down for Trump to become the man of his dreams. I’m not seeing it happening, personally, so I have no apocalyptic hopes to dash, at least not on that front. Other folks may disagree of course. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941/43 "2017-06-27T23:47:14Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > You’re experiencing the former now; how does that feel. Not much or entirely like I imagine a fascist government or dictatorship would. What’s your point? Just present your argument that the three states of government are alike functionally and connotatively. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941/44 "2017-06-28T01:13:41Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I get the impression that some folks would be disappointed if Trump didn’t seriously attempt to go full-out dictator, just like some folks were probably disappointed that Obama didn’t try to take people’s guns away or lock people up in FEMA camps and have black helicopters doing black-helicopter things. Define some folks? I can’t find the author, but on CNN there was an analyist/author who said there were something like 4 or 5 different groups when it comes to Trump ranging from strong support to strong opposition. Some are on the margins of their support, they support him but only because they think he will do something ofr them. If he fails to deliver, they’ll turn on him. But his core group of supporters not only fully support him, but the author said that they think Trump’s problem is too many checks on his power. The judiciary, the media, the legislature. I believe those people make up something like 20-30% of voters, about half of Trump’s voters in 2016. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say they want a dictatorship, but they do want the US to become more authoritarian when a republican is in charge. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941/45 "2017-06-28T06:19:57Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I get the impression that some folks would be disappointed if Trump didn’t seriously attempt to go full-out dictator, just like some folks were probably disappointed that Obama didn’t try to take people’s guns away or lock people up in FEMA camps and have black helicopters doing black-helicopter things. It’s probably the same people. They were worried Obama would take over as a dictator and they’re hoping Trump will. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941/46 "2017-06-28T07:05:15Z")
Why does a topic that might have been interesting always have to turn into an “I dont like trump he is da debil” fest? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941/47 "2017-06-28T13:42:17Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m curious if you copied this list from somewhere or if you made up your own Trump-is-only-one-step-away-from-dictatorship 10-point-plan that conveniently fits your views of Trump’s actions. If it was the former, where did you get it from? This is all my own material, any resemblance to any other work is purely coincidental. If you’re betting on the majority to save us, I certainly hope you’re right. But being elected with a minority didn’t stop Hitler from wielding the iron fist. What frightens me is the unquestioned loyalty of Don The Con’s followers, They will defend his position on any issue with the intensity of a thousand suns and then just as passionately defend the exact opposite should Don change his mind. If you want to get depressed, check out the Facebook group Vietnam Veterans for Trump (I only typed the name because it was unavoidable). These people make no bones about their hatred of anyone who disagrees with them in the slightest. We’re seeing increases in verbal and physical attacks on minorities of all stripes, be they black, Muslim, Hispanic, or whatever. His supporters may be a minority, but they can, will, and have used violence against any and all opposition. All that is needed is a spark to set off an ever shortening fuse. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941/48 "2017-06-28T13:48:14Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Universal healthcare controlled by the government with the wrong people in power could be dangerous. Could, yes. On the other hand healthcare controlled by corporations with the right (corporate) people in power is lethal. > [@](#): > > The world is trending more towards e-cash. A trend which has proceeded apace seemingly without causal relationship with rising dictatorships. > [@](#): > > The right to bear arms remains a head against tyranny. It might have been in the 19th century, and the whiff of cordite remains a powerful opiate. Were a dictatorship to rise Stateside it would either be: a coup d’eta and the US’s military industrial complex seems more concerned with money than power or ; a populist uprising and the average 'merkin punter is just too fat, dumb and rich to be stirred into revolution. Either could change given enough time but would require isolationism, entrenched Us vs Them with God on the side of “Us” and “Them” being readily identifiable and a collapse in economic fortune an order of magnitude greater that the GFC. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941/49 "2017-06-28T15:48:05Z")
> [@Weisshund](#): > > Why does a topic that might have been interesting always have to turn into an “I dont like trump he is da debil” fest? That’s not true. I dislike him because he’s a lying asshole. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941/50 "2017-06-28T16:01:43Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > This is all my own material, any resemblance to any other work is purely coincidental. Thanks for the response. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > We’re seeing increases in verbal and physical attacks on minorities of all stripes, be they black, Muslim, Hispanic, or whatever. Cite (I’m hoping for something more credible than SPLC)? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941/51 "2017-06-28T16:23:06Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Define some folks? > > I can’t find the author, but on CNN there was an analyist/author who said there were something like 4 or 5 different groups when it comes to Trump ranging from strong support to strong opposition. > > Some are on the margins of their support, they support him but only because they think he will do something ofr them. If he fails to deliver, they’ll turn on him. > > But his core group of supporters not only fully support him, but the author said that they think Trump’s problem is too many checks on his power. The judiciary, the media, the legislature. > > I believe those people make up something like 20-30% of voters, about half of Trump’s voters in 2016. > > I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say they want a dictatorship, but they do want the US to become more authoritarian when a republican is in charge. The folks I am referring to are actually anti-Trumpers, not pro-Trumpers. I get a distinct vibe that some anti-Trumpers are eager to see Trump become \*more \*villainish, in order to match their portrayal of Trump as a villain all the more closely. I also felt the same way during the Obama administration - that many Obama opponents were hoping he would become cartoon-villainish and live \*up \*to the horrific image they liked to portray him as. ---
**Author:** ![RupieDupie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@RupieDupie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RupieDupie)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941/52 "2017-07-03T04:48:24Z")
When people are punished for expressing or holding a valid\* opinion/behaviour contrary to that of the powers-that-be \*Thinking on the fly here - an opinion that does not interfere with the human rights of other individuals (agents) ---
**Author:** ![ThisIsTheEnd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisistheend/32/4713_2.png) [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941/53 "2017-07-03T07:22:01Z")
You don’t need any “factors.” All you need is: A guy willing to do it + allied with the other 2 branches or, A guy willing to do it + the military The fact that a slight or overwhelming majority of citizens don’t want it matters not unless they are willing to do something beyond responding to a poll. If you really want to find the “factors” that would set it up, well, that’s already happened. You can go ahead and start analyzing now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941.md?page=2)