"All of the grandstanding, Hartmann explained, from the blatant disregard for the law to his attempts to distract from the flailing economy to his utilization of the military to invade American citizens, is "precisely because he's so extraordinarily weak." He then compared the president to other strongman leaders and said, "None were as weak as Trump is today when they succeeded in consolidating enough power to eliminate their challengers and lock down the populace.""
"He said those who succeeded at destroying democracy in their countries - such as Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orbán, Benito Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler - had extremely high approval ratings as they rose to prominence and also solved certain national crises on their way to absolute power. Hitler, he said, for example, created "massive public works and social welfare programs" that helped drastically reduce unemployment."
""He didn't even break 50 percent of the popular vote in 2024, and lost the popular vote in 2016." "As of Oct. 20, 2025, 44.2 percent approved and 52.1 percent disapproved of his presidency, according to Nate Silver's Silver Bulletin. The RealClearPolitics average gives him around 45 percent, while Gallup finds 40 percent, making him one of the least popular U.S. presidents at this stage in all of our history.""
Donald Trump's grandstanding, disregard for law, attempts to distract from a flailing economy, and use of the military to invade American citizens indicate extraordinary weakness rather than durable power. Historical strongman leaders who destroyed democracy often enjoyed high approval ratings and solved acute national crises while consolidating power. Adolf Hitler is cited as an example who implemented massive public works and social welfare programs that reduced unemployment. Trump's approval ratings remain low: he failed to break 50 percent in 2024 and lost the popular vote in 2016. As of Oct. 20, 2025, approval was 44.2 percent and disapproval 52.1 percent; RealClearPolitics averaged 45 percent and Gallup found 40 percent, making him one of the least popular presidents at this stage.
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