NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
US President Donald Trump speaks at a "Make America Great Again" rally at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, North Carolina, on July 17, 2019.
- President Donald Trump's ongoing attacks on "the Squad," a group of four progressive Democratic lawmakers who are women of color, plays off of the tactics of authoritarian leaders, experts say.
- Trump sparked widespread backlash when he sent out racist tweets about the group earlier this month, and he's only escalated his verbal attacks since.
- Experts on authoritarianism warn Trump's rhetoric toward "the Squad" is a threat to democracy, as he equates opposition to his policies with hatred for the US.
- "Questioning commitment to country just because someone differs with you on policy is wrong, antithetical to democracy, and it's extremely, extremely dangerous," Sheri Berman, a professor of political science at Barnard College with expertise in democracy, populism, and fascism, told INSIDER.
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President Donald Trump's racist tweets about "the Squad" and insistence that they hate the US mirrors the practices of authoritarian regimes and poses a dangerous threat to American democracy, experts warn.
The four progressive Democratic lawmakers who have become known as "the Squad" - Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan - are unabashed critics of Trump who oppose him an a slew of hotbed issues.
Instead of debating these lawmakers on policy, Trump has turned to questioning their patriotism as he portrays them as a threat to the country's ideals. All four lawmakers are women of color, and Trump has frequently tapped into racist, xenophobic notions of what it means to be American in his verbal attacks on them.
In the tweets earlier this month that ignited a political firestorm, Trump suggested the four lawmakers "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested" countries they came from. But all of them are US citizens and three out of four were born in the US.
As Trump responded to the backlash over the tweets, which played off of the racist "go back to Africa" trope, he defended himself with the baseless allegations that the lawmakers hate the US.
"These are people that, in my opinion, hate our country," Trump said. "As far as I'm concerned, if you hate our country, if you're not happy here, you can leave."
In a subsequent tweet, Trump said, "I don't believe the four Congresswomen are capable of loving our Country." He called on the lawmakers to apologize to the US while suggesting they want to "destroy" the nation.
The underlying message of Trump's war on "the Squad" is that those who oppose him also stand against America, which experts say mimics the tactics of authoritarian leaders.
'Racism and loyalty demands: these are not the values democracy'
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian at New York University who specializes in authoritarianism and fascism, told INSIDER, "Demands for loyalty are typical of authoritarian leaders, as is the language of hate and 'if you don't like it, leave.'"
"Racism and loyalty demands: these are not the values democracy," Ben-Ghiat added.
At a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, just a few days after Trump's racist tweets about "The Squad," the president continued his onslaught of criticism against the lawmakers. But that night he zeroed in on Omar, who came to the US as a Somali refugee during childhood. Amid Trump's attacks on Omar, the crowd began chanting "SEND HER BACK!"
Trump stood and watched, allowing the chants to persist for 13 seconds before speaking again. Later, he falsely said he tried to stop the chant, only to later defend his supporters at the rally as "incredible patriots."
"At the Greenville rally the new and disturbing thing was the president calling out by name an individual who is Muslim and a former refugee - categories of people most authoritarian leaders today are targeting," Ben-Ghiat said.
With his rhetoric toward "the Squad," Trump is "implying that by their very existence as people of color and critiques of him they are a danger to American values," Ben-Ghiat said.
To this point, the president has repeatedly attempted to smear "the Squad" with unfounded allegations. He's falsely claimed they've made references to "evil Jews" and compared America to "garbage," for example.
'In the case of Trump, it is particularly hypocritical'
Cas Mudde, a political scientist at the University of Georgia who's an expert in populism, extremism, and democracy, told INSIDER that authoritarians tend to respond to criticism of their leadership by morphing it into an attack on the nation or state.
"Authoritarian leaders often require absolute loyalty to the nation/state, which, by extension, means the leader and/or party, as they see themselves as the personification of the state. It is a smart way of both deflecting and delegitimizing critique," Mudde said. "Rather than critique of the leader/government, it is alleged critique of the state/nation, which is broadly seen as illegitimate and traitorous."
Mudde added, "In the case of Trump, it is particularly hypocritical, given that he was by and large elected on one big rant against the current state of the country."
Indeed, Trump in 2016 ran under the slogan, "Make America Great Again," as he painted a dark, nearly apocalyptic image of the country that did not mesh with reality.
'Patriotism does not mean always agreeing with the president or the party in power'
Sheri Berman, a professor of political science at Barnard College with expertise in democracy, populism, and fascism, told INSIDER, Trump's attacks on "the Squad" are yet another example of his "very unpleasant tendency to demonize his opponents" that poses a danger to democracy.
"In democracy one assumes that there are differences of opinion and a diversity of citizens," Berman said. "If we all believed the same things then having elections and different parties would be superfluous."
For democracy to function properly, people must accept that the differences they may have with others in their society are legitimate.
But Trump "clearly does not believe that," Berman said, "so his opponents become not people that he simply differs over policy with, but people who are evil, who are a threat to the country."
Berman characterized this as a corrosive trend for both democracy and for US society more generally in the sense it "tends to incite people" and push them toward more radical behaviors.
"There has to be a distinction made between people who differ with you on policy and enemies. It's not a zero-sum game," Berman said. "You can't characterize people who differ with you on policy, no matter how vociferously, as enemies or threats."
"Patriotism does not mean always agreeing with the president or the party in power. Patriotism means loyalty to country," Berman added, "Questioning commitment to country just because someone differs with you on policy is wrong, antithetical to democracy, and it's extremely, extremely dangerous."
On the question of whether this behavior from Trump qualifies as authoritarian, Berman said in some senses it is.
"Authoritarians rule by divide and conquer. They don't want to have a united opposition. They don't want the people to focus on the problems that they or their government are producing, but rather on other kinds of dangers that they can pretend they are in charge of," Berman said. "Divide and conquer is a tried and true authoritarian tactic, although it does not have to be limited to authoritarian regimes."
Berman added that Trump's war on "the Squad" is also part of his efforts to solidify his base via the use of "threats and fear" ahead of an election year.
"If Trump wins the next election, we're going to be in an ever deeper hole because he will feel vindicated," Berman said. "This kind of rhetoric and behavior will increase and become even more entrenched in the Republican party."
Crowd at tonight's Trump rally in North Carolina breaks out into chants of "Send her back!" as the president attacks Rep. Ilhan Omar pic.twitter.com/0q5L39W61h
- Jon Passantino (@passantino) July 17, 2019