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About
Donald Trump isn't a despot. But he is increasingly acting like The Despot's Apprentice, an understudy in authoritarian tactics that threaten to erode American democracy, including:
Attacking the press
Threatening rule of law by firing those who investigate his alleged wrongdoings
Using nepotism to staff the White House
and countless other techniques
Donald Trump is borrowing tactics from the world's dictators and despots. Trump's fascination with the military, his obsession with his own cult of personality, and his deliberate campaign to blur the line between fact and falsehood are nothing new to the world of despots. But they are new to the United States. With each authoritarian tactic or tweet, Trump poses a unique threat to democratic government in the world's most powerful democracy.
At the same time, Trump's apprenticeship has serious consequences beyond the United States. His bizarre adoration and idolization of despotic strongmen-from Russia's Putin, to Turkey's Erdogan, or to the Philippines' Duterte-has transformed American foreign policy into a powerful cheerleader for some of the world's worst regimes.
In The Despot's Apprentice, an ex-US campaign advisor who has sat with the world's dictators explains Donald Trump's increasingly authoritarian tactics and how Trump uniquely threatens American democracy... and how to save it from him.
Attacking the press
Threatening rule of law by firing those who investigate his alleged wrongdoings
Using nepotism to staff the White House
and countless other techniques
Donald Trump is borrowing tactics from the world's dictators and despots. Trump's fascination with the military, his obsession with his own cult of personality, and his deliberate campaign to blur the line between fact and falsehood are nothing new to the world of despots. But they are new to the United States. With each authoritarian tactic or tweet, Trump poses a unique threat to democratic government in the world's most powerful democracy.
At the same time, Trump's apprenticeship has serious consequences beyond the United States. His bizarre adoration and idolization of despotic strongmen-from Russia's Putin, to Turkey's Erdogan, or to the Philippines' Duterte-has transformed American foreign policy into a powerful cheerleader for some of the world's worst regimes.
In The Despot's Apprentice, an ex-US campaign advisor who has sat with the world's dictators explains Donald Trump's increasingly authoritarian tactics and how Trump uniquely threatens American democracy... and how to save it from him.
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Reviews
"Brian Klaas uses his knowledge of the world's despotic regimes to shed light on authoritarian tendencies in contemporary America. A chilling reminder of the very real threats that the Trump administration poses to American democracy, and essential reading for those who want to do something about it."
Anne Applebaum, columnist for the Washington Post and Pulitzer Prize winner
"Thank goodness for Brian Klaas. At a moment of unprecedented political crisis for the United States, he's one of the very few experts to offer a much-needed global perspective on the Trump phenomenon. Trump, he shows, is less of an exception than part of an ominous global trend: disillusionment with democracy. A sharp-sighted and urgently needed book."
Christian Caryl, editor of DemocracyPost at the Washington Post
"The Despot's Apprentice is morally righteous in the best sense of that word. Brian Klaas offers an erudite and persuasive plea to resist both budding and aspiring dictators, both in the United States and around the world."
Yascha Mounk, Harvard lecturer, Slate columnist