Democracy experts agree that President Donald Trump is pushing America towards autocracy with little sign of stopping.
The New York Times’ Editorial Board launched a chilling “autocracy tracker” for the United States on Friday. The piece outlines 12 ways that a democracy can become an autocracy, and asserts that America has regressed in all 12 categories.
“Our country is still not close to being a true autocracy, in the mold of Russia or China. But once countries begin taking steps away from democracy, the march often continues,” warned the Times board.
The New York Times, which the president has long harangued as “The failing New York Times” and ranks high on his list of most-hated publications, judged that Trump is most like an authoritarian in the areas of persecuting political opponents, declaring national emergencies on false pretenses, vilifying marginalized groups, and using power for personal profit.
The paper also judged that Trump has “started” to take seven other actions of an authoritarian, including stifling dissent and speech, bypassing the legislature, using the military for domestic control, defying the courts, controlling information and the news media, taking over universities, and manipulating the law to stay in power.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
The piece comes shortly after a 2024 New York Times front page went viral for predicting exactly what would happen in a second Trump term.
It also stands as a handy, albeit terrifying way, of tracking the myriad ways Trump has exerted or attempted to exert authoritarian power in his second term. The Times said it will update the piece in 2026 as the second Trump administration approaches a full-on autocratic government.
Though the piece is grim, it did point to positive signs that the country hasn’t slipped into total authoritarianism yet. It cited the massive “No Kings” protests, America’s “mostly free press, and independent judiciary” as evidence that the country’s democracy still stands.
Trump has expressed irritation about all these things, as he’s belittled No Kings, sued The New York Times for the publication’s negative coverage of him, and had prosecutors removed for not doing his bidding.
Finally, the Times asserts that there is one sign that will signal America has entirely fallen into autocracy.
“The clearest sign that a democracy has died is that a leader and his party make it impossible for their opponents to win an election and hold power,” they wrote.
The line is particularly chilling as Trump has taken a “will he, won’t he” approach toward running for an unconstitutional third term in 2028.
