Yes, Trump is quite an outlier in his non-standard behavior, I agree on that.

That said, Americans still enjoy very robust protections of freedom of speech and association, about the strongest in the world, and your SCOTUS does not seem to be inclined to hollow them out. Many of the pending lawsuits will end there and eventually bind this administration, plus the following ones.

This just does not happen in actual authoritarian countries, where no judicial remedy is available and the justice system is just another arm of the tyrant, rubberstamping punishments pre-determined by him.

Yes, I agree that vigilance about infringements of freedom is necessary, but the current US population is plenty vigilant. Trump is nowhere near as popular as, say, Erdogan is, and cannot simply raid offices of the Democrats and shut down oppositional media.

If you're not kowtowing the worst possible characterization of someone, then you're wrong.

Is Trump a dictator with unilateral control? No.

Will you be celebrated for failing to recognize that? Yes.

No, he's not. He's more direct and brazen about it.

But he's doing the same culling, the same political demands, same everything.

Its just now in plain view rather than behind closed doors.