There were two stories coming out of New Hampshire’s Presidential primary, the first in the nation.

Here’s the first story. In a snow covered state in New England, some citizens wrote in the name of their choice for President. All around the state people held signs outside voting sites encouraging voters to write-in Joe Biden. They did and Joe Biden won without landing Air Force One in Concord, or having his name on the ballot. BTW, Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

The second story is disgusting. Although Nikki Haley came in second in the race, she’s still standing and promises to continue her run for first place on the Republican ticket. Trump is furious that she hasn’t dropped out, endorsed him, and kissed his ring.

People know I wrote a book about Donald Trump’s effect on American democracy, human rights, science and public health. They can’t understand how people can vote for him, as they did in Iowa and New Hampshire. I try and point out that he may have won these two elections, but he might not fare so well in the fall. For example in Iowa, there are 752,249 registered Republicans. Only 110,520 participated in the caucuses. The candidates and percentage of vote: Nikki Haley (19.1), Ron DeSantis (21.2), Asa Hutchinson (0.2), Vivek Ramaswamy (7.7), and Donald Trump (51.0). The math here is that Trump got 56,200 votes, while 54,260 voters chose not to vote for Trump. Kind of a 50-50 split. But the more interesting number is only 14% of the Republican electorate participated in the caucuses, and only 1/2 voted for Trump. Some reporters suggest that only very extreme right wing, evangelical Republicans came out to caucus. When voters go to the polls in the fall, the democrats have nearly as many registered voters as the Republican party. Nineteen percent of Iowans are independent. These numbers don’t spell an easy victory for Trump. He’ll possibly lose.

The Sycophants

I saw this photo last night and couldn’t resist downloading it and marking it up. Here we have Marjorie Taylor-Greene from Georgia. She tags along with Trump everywhere he goes, dying to be picked as Trump’s vice president. It could happen. If it did, Democrats would come out in droves.

Then we have Vivek Ramaswamy, who dropped out after the caucus. He has been kissing Trump’s ring throughout the primary season. He swore his allegiance to the guy who caused the insurrection of January 6.

And finally, we have Tim Scott, Senator from South Carolina. He was appointed a senator by the governor of South Carolina, who at the time was Nikki Haley. After running around the track, he dropped out and immediately pledged his support to Trump.

The Godfather

Donald Trump is the godfather of American politics in 2024. I would align him with authoritarians such as Viktor Orbán of Hungary, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an of Turkey, and Vladimir Putin of Russia. He insists on complete loyalty. But he also dehumanizes others, even the people who support him. He embarrassed Ramaswamy and Scott last night before each was to speak. Scott professed his love for Trump in an unbelievable remark he made in front of the cameras: “I just love you.”

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, in her book Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, links Trump with all of the other authoritarians she discusses. She writes that:

From the start, authoritarians stand out from other kinds of politicians by appealing to negative experiences and emotions. They don the cloak of national victimhood, reliving the humiliations of their people by foreign powers as they proclaim themselves their nation’s saviors. Picking up on powerful resentments, hopes, and fears, they present themselves as the vehicle for obtaining what is most wanted, whether it is territory, safety from racial others, securing male authority, or payback for exploitation by internal or external enemies.

Ben-Ghiat, Ruth. Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present (p. 9). W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition.

Trump insists those who opposed him during the primary support him for the rest of the primary and general election season. If they don’t, they will be subject to payback later. Revenge is a key attribute of Trump.

In conclusion, Trump is an authoritarian who is following the same path as other autocratic leaders. Haley must be willing to attest to the fact that Trump is an autocrat and racist, who has been charged in 4 indictments with 91 felonies, found guilty of business fraud in New York state, and found guilty of rape and sexual assault in a New York courtroom.