Trump Autocracy Tracker | Democracy Threat Dashboard

AC01

Consolidation of Executive Power

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

Administration challenged constitutional and democratic norms on ‘the scope of executive power and the authority of courts to check it’
Trump issued 217 executive orders in first 10 months, with 143 in first 100 days—7.2 times the historical average. Report describes orders as ‘unprecedented in scale’ and notes ‘they were never meant to replace Congress or stand in for the rule of law’
testing the legal system and reach of the executive branch through eliminating entire agencies and firing tens of thousands of workers

AC02

Undermining Judicial Independence

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Evidence (3)

Gov. Wes Moore stated the administration has been ‘blatantly violating judicial orders, and directing personal attacks on individual judges’ and called the lawsuit against judges ‘a transparent effort to intimidate judges and usurp the power of the courts’
a Supreme Court finding ‘invisible ink’ in the Constitution to enhance the President’s powers
Trump claimed he is ‘the federal law’ and has expressed that not everyone his administration is trying to deport should get a trial, contradicting judicial oversight

AC03

Attacks on Free Press / Media Capture

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Evidence (3)

Trump is targeting the free press and free speech. His administration has sought to prosecute or punish those who speak out (such as journalist Don Lemon
The White House can restrict Associated Press journalists’ access from covering the president at daily events, with the court ruling the White House ‘retains discretion to determine, including on the basis of viewpoint, which journalists will be admitted’
Trump is targeting the free press and free speech. His administration has sought to prosecute or punish those who speak out (such as journalist Don Lemon)

AC04

Politicization of Law Enforcement / Military

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

The toolkit explicitly prepares for fighting back against ICE raids under a Trump administration, indicating escalation of enforcement tactics and ‘militaristic approach to civil arrests’ with expectation that ‘ICE will resurrect some of its past problematic tactics’
The existence of an ‘anti-weaponization’ fund suggests systematic politicization of justice and law enforcement by framing legitimate oversight and prosecution as ‘weaponization’
Deployment of National Guard to California without state governor’s consent for immigration enforcement, first time since 1965. Activation of 700 Marine infantry battalion members to join National Guard with ‘little clarity about the rules of force governing this deployment’

AC05

Election Interference / Voter Suppression

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

His team has undermined vertical checks on the executive by weakening voting rights and the independence of election administration
References to ‘efforts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election’ involving multiple attorneys working with Trump
Trump’s team has undermined vertical checks on the executive by weakening voting rights and the independence of election administration

AC06

Silencing Political Opposition

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered contracts with the American Federation of Government Employees be terminated in April – targeting union representation
Federal agents have repeatedly detained or arrested public officials conducting legitimate oversight, including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Congresswoman LaMonica McIver, and Senator Alex Padilla who was tackled and detained for asking questions
DOJ seeking names of hospital staff who have provided care – creating potential chilling effects on healthcare providers serving transgender youth

AC07

Purging Civil Service / Loyalty Tests

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] plans to eliminate 216,215 federal government positions in March alone, representing the largest federal workforce reduction since tracking began
State Department official Mari Stull was searching social media profiles and investigating current employees to see if they were ‘disloyal’ to the Trump administration, including assessing whether career State employees had supported Obama-era policies
High-level Trump administration officials expressed concern about employees who worked in the Obama administration and the ‘loyalty’ of other federal workers, with senior Trump officials discussing ways to purge former Obama career employees

AC08

Weakening Legislative Oversight

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

Instead of honoring the funding Congress already decided to set aside, the Trump administration has withheld or frozen billions of dollars from the states
executive orders were never meant to replace Congress or stand in for the rule of law. These unilateral directives…have forced states to defend constitutional boundaries
Trump filed a lawsuit to block the release of the records… opposing former President Donald Trump’s attempt to block the release of documents about the January 6 insurrection

AC09

Weaponizing Prosecution

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

FBI investigations being deployed against critics suggests selective enforcement and political motivation in law enforcement actions
Trump has repeatedly used the power of the federal government to retaliate against his political rivals through investigations and prosecutions
Trump’s failure to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador after deportation due to administrative error, and plans for ‘sending American citizens to foreign prisons’ with 97% of experts rating it as threat to democracy

AC10

Dismantling Regulatory Agencies

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

Several changes Trump is attempting to make would only be made possible by turning an independent bipartisan federal agency (Election Assistance Commission) into an arm of the executive branch
eliminating entire agencies… called for the elimination of the Consumer Financial Protection Board
DOGE actions have been attributed to 280,253 layoff plans of federal workers and contractors impacting 27 agencies

AU01

Dehumanizing Language Toward Out-Groups

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

Creating discriminatory refugee policy based on race and using ‘assimilation’ rhetoric that implies racial hierarchy in immigration worthiness
Use of arrest quotas for immigration enforcement, treating immigrants as targets to be processed through numerical goals rather than individuals with rights
Implementation of policies allowing federal agents to stop and question people about immigration status based only on their ethnicities or languages they speak, suggesting targeting based on racial/ethnic characteristics

AU02

Cult of Personality Promotion

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

‘I am your retribution’ framing
MAGA movement centered entirely on personality
Demands that party members publicly pledge loyalty

AU03

Scapegoating / Enemy Creation

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

Systematic targeting of immigrants including those ‘who pose no threat to public safety’ and ‘contribute greatly to the economy and social fabric of their communities’, suggesting scapegoating beyond legitimate law enforcement
The White House site states ‘they do not belong here’ about undocumented immigrants, creating enemy narratives and othering specific groups
Official White House site declaring that undocumented immigrants ‘do not belong here’ creates enemy narrative targeting specific population

AU04

Demands for Personal Loyalty Over Institutional Loyalty

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

Network of ‘Trump-loyal think tanks’ creating replacement lists shows prioritization of personal loyalty to Trump over institutional expertise or merit
Creating Subservient Federal Workforce Loyal to Trump, Not Constitution
I do not believe that the leadership of the department can trust you to assist in implementing the president’s agenda faithfully – indicating firing based on personal loyalty to president rather than institutional duty

AU05

Delegitimizing Elections and Democratic Processes

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

In State of the Union address, Trump ‘reiterated lies about widespread voter fraud’ and continues raising concerns about federal interference in midterm elections
Trump’s repeated claims that the 2020 election and last week’s California primaries were ‘rigged’
Continued framing of January 6th participants as unfairly treated despite their violent actions against democratic institutions, with claims they were ‘politically targeted’

AU06

Promoting Violence or Threatening Force

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

Federal agents have ‘shot and killed two Minnesota citizens on the street’ and are ‘using physical force against civilians, including peaceful protestors, sometimes fatally’
Endorsed attacks on protesters, said ‘I would never kill them but I do hate them’ about reporters, promised to cover legal fees for beating protesters
Trump’s plan for ‘sending American citizens to foreign prisons’ represents unprecedented threats of extrajudicial detention

AU07

Conspiracy Theories as Governance Tools

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

The arson suspect targeted a room that housed Dominion voting equipment—a target of conspiracy theories in the election denial movement.
Ellis drafted memoranda that ‘relied on the demonstrably false premise that disputes existed among slates of presidential electors in six swing states’
This is the president using the executive branch to continue pushing lies and conspiracy theories and attacking those who challenge him.

AU08

Nationalist / Populist Demagoguery

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

‘America First’ framing with exclusionary overtones
Anti-immigrant nationalism as central policy platform
Populist economic rhetoric contradicted by tax policies favoring wealthy

AU09

Rejection of Accountability / Rule of Law

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

Justice Department nominees dodged questions about ignoring court orders and ‘suggested there may be instances where they could do so.’ VP Vance claimed judges aren’t allowed to control executive power.
Walking out of interview when pressed on election fraud claims demonstrates avoidance of accountability and scrutiny
Mass pardoning without individual case review violates traditional clemency standards requiring remorse and atonement, described as unprecedented use of pardon power

AU10

Suppression of Dissent

10 ↑

Evidence (3)

The threat to invoke the Insurrection Act was made in response to ‘demonstrations protesting the deployment of 3,000 federal immigration enforcement personnel and the killing of an American citizen by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent,’ indicating use of military force to suppress protest and dissent.
Trump’s effort to suppress protests in Los Angeles over his immigration policies using the California National Guard
A federal judge said agents in Chicago were violating the constitutional rights of peaceful protesters and the media with their use of excessive force

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