As Germany’s situation deteriorated in the spring of 1923, (emphasis mine) hopes for a national messiah grew and grew. The ultraconservative nationalist professor Karl Alexander von Müller, whose Munich lectures were regularly attended by Rudolf Hess and Hermann Göring, would later recall that even among academic circles at the time, there was lots of talk of the necessity of a dictatorship as the only way out. It was part of the legacy of the Bismarck era “that a great many—indeed what felt like most—Germans sought salvation in a lone, great individual.”

The example of Italy, where Benito Mussolini had seized power in a coup in late October 1922, fired the imaginations of those Germans who despised the Weimar Republic. For example, the son of a prominent publisher and an early fellow traveler with Hitler, Ernst Hanfstaengl, observed “a certain aggressive admiration for what had taken place south of the Alps, for the elan of the fascist movement, for Mussolini and New Italy” among the bourgeois patrons who frequented Munich’s Hofgarten park. He recorded typical statements, such as “yes, indeed, we need someone like that in charge (emphasis mine)—a Renaissance man and Machiavellian, someone without scruples.” Reference: Ullrich, Volker. Germany 1923: Hyperinflation, Hitler’s Putsch, and Democracy in Crisis (p. 162). Liveright. Kindle Edition

America’s Con-Man

Donald Trump thinks he’s a “strongman.” He indeed utters some of the words used by dictators and strongmen. But Trump is not A strongman. He desperately wants to be. He is weak and old. In 2021, he staged a coup attempt by sending hordes of his sycophants to storm the U.S. Capitol on January 6 to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. He failed. In my 2022 book, I show how Trump tried to disable vast aspects of America’s democracy.

Although he hasn’t been criminally tried, he has been indicted by the Justice Department and Fulton County, Georgia, for attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He also stole boxes of classified documents. He took them from the White House and shipped them to a Mar A Lago resort where they were placed in closets, offices, and even a ballroom stage. Although a federal judge dismissed the case, it will be opened by the Justice Department.

Trump may be a weak strongman, but he is a dangerous wanna-be dictator. If elected, he would undermine and attempt to dismantle democratic guard rails. He will also be a puppet for the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. It is a playbook of more than 900 pages outlining how a set of principles of authoritarian rule would control a presidency.

Defeating the Convicted Felon

In 2024, Trump was found guilty of 34 felony charges related to tax fraud carried out by Trump and his allies the “Hush Money Case.” He was also found liable of sexual assault and rape in a New York case. In addition, he was found liable for nearly 500,000 million dollars for business fraud.

He’s trying to use an autocratic playbook tying him to tyrants such as Mussolini, Hitler, and Putin. His Allies are involved in ways to undermine the integrity of U.S. elections. Some laws have made it more difficult for some people to vote. For example, I raised the question about free and fair elections. Answer: Not so much in Georgia.

He must be defeated. Vote.