I wonder if there's been any scholarly research on that? It seems on reflection that it's actually fairly common for autocrats to not only be foul, destructive, self-absorbed pieces of shit, but for them and their supporters to treat that as some sort of badge of honor.
More broadly, it's striking me that there are likely dominant moods in countries - periods during which for instance, a plurality of progressives elects a progressive or a plurality of patriots elects a patriot or a plurality of warmongers elects a warmonger.
And the current US is a plurality of assholes who elected an asshole (two for the price of one even).
yes. there have been scholarly efforts in this domain. effectively authoritarians vote purely out of the fear that something bad will come for them so they vote in people who promise to be big and tough and scary towards those threats. ironically, this incentivizes the people getting voted in to intensify how awful things are for people because it benefits them personally.
he gave himself a pat on the back for his executive order ending equitable hiring processes, issued last week, which claimed that the FAA “specifically recruited and hired individuals with ‘severe intellectual’ disabilities, psychiatric issues, and complete paralysis.” Trump has a history of attacking disabled people and of insulting his political opponents by asserting that they are “mentally disabled.”
This. National leadership is what got us here. Local leadership is what made us great. We can be local and think / cooperate nationally. You cannot be National and think locally for every individual place. You will fail every time as they have.
Honestly we kind of always have been. At the very minimum since Reagan. But we absolutely are getting ready to hit the new level of shit ,and the people who need to learn lessons. Are immune to learning.
I think every asshole who sat the election out should stfu and take all of it in like the little bitches they are. They enabled this out of their unwillingness to see the bigger picture out of their virtue signalling and holier than thou attitude. All of us are now along for the 4-year ride. Thanks, fuckers.