The weekend following Donald Trump's inauguration saw several examples of authoritarianism perpetuated by the White House. It began with Press Secretary Sean Spicer (who has been trending on Twitter every since) haranguing the press for their accurate reporting of low crowd numbers during the inauguration. This was followed by Donald Trump and Kellyanne Conway reiterating the lie that Trump's inauguration drew crowds at least as large as Barrack Obama's. Conway clinched the authoritarianism with her statement about Spicer "alternative facts" - thus drawing immediate comparisons to George Orwell's 1984.
Trump's authoritarianism also included hiring people to follow him to the CIA and applaud his conference there.
All these actions tie into an authoritarian's need for adulation and Trump's narrative that he's a populist and he's superior to all other politicians and presidents. The White House, under Trump's direction, needs Trump to be popular and beloved of the people, and will engineer events, deny facts, and flat out lie in support of that narrative.
There's also the larger political purpose which is distancing Trump's die hard supporters from legitimate media thus preparing the way for propaganda agents in the White House and exhausting everyone else before they start on the bigger lies and controversies.
Trump's authoritarianism also included hiring people to follow him to the CIA and applaud his conference there.
All these actions tie into an authoritarian's need for adulation and Trump's narrative that he's a populist and he's superior to all other politicians and presidents. The White House, under Trump's direction, needs Trump to be popular and beloved of the people, and will engineer events, deny facts, and flat out lie in support of that narrative.
There's also the larger political purpose which is distancing Trump's die hard supporters from legitimate media thus preparing the way for propaganda agents in the White House and exhausting everyone else before they start on the bigger lies and controversies.
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