Opinion: Give me liberty or a Tinpot Dictator

By Steve Corbin, Professor Emeritus of Marketing, University of Northern Iowa

Peggy Noonan has been a right-leaning columnist for The Wall Street Journal since leaving the Ronald Reagan administration as his primary speechwriter. Five of Noonan’s books have been New York Times bestsellers. Consuming every word of her weekly column keeps me politically balanced.

In Noonan’s June 14-15 column titled “America is losing sight of its political culture,” she referred to and elaborated on our 47th president being America’s Mr. Tinpot Dictator. This is a term for a leader who acts like a dictator, often with delusions of grandeur and authoritarian tendencies. With that title about Mr. Trump, my investigative research on the topic pursued.

Immediately I was led to study Jeane Kirkpatrick, who played a major role in the foreign policy arm of the Ronald Reagan administration. She was an ardent anti-communist and became the first female to serve as US Ambassador to the United Nations. In Kirkpatrick’s 1982 book “Dictatorship and Double Standards,” she described two kinds of dictatorships, a traditional autocracy (Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, North Korea and United Arab Emirates) and a tinpot dictatorship (Nicaragua, Philippines, Syria and Panama).

In Kirkpatrick’s model, dictators remain in power by using the tools of repression, domination and fear. In a Perplexity AI research-based search, 15 documented examples of Donald Trump exhibiting behaviors commonly associated with a tinpot dictator were revealed. The examples – noted below -- are referenced by nine different sources and align with patterns seen in authoritarian regimes, where leaders undermine democratic institutions, target minorities, silence dissent and concentrate power to the point where they feel and act like a king.

In summary fashion, America has witnessed -- since Jan. 20 – Mr. Trump disregarding court orders, attacking the press, suppressing protests, expanding executive power, demonizing opponents, undermining elections, weaponizing law enforcement, dehumanizing minorities, ending asylum and expanding mass deportations, attacking the rule of law, marginalizing racial and LGBTQ+ groups, spreading disinformation, invoking emergency powers, threatening political opponents and promoting fear and division.

In the 160 days of Trump’s 2.0 administration, Trump’s actions have closely mirrored classic authoritarian tactics such as labeling media as “enemies of the people,” downgrading valid research-based polls that show America’s disapproval of him and his cabinet members’ actions, quashing states’ rights, using force against protestors by calling in the military to quell his definition of civil unrest, undermining Congressional and judicial institutional checks, demeaning people – even of his own party – who disagree with him and presenting himself as the sole savior of the nation.

Thom Hartman, columnist for the independent news outlet Common Dreams, noted in his June 23 op-ed regarding Trump’s decision to bomb Iran, “By defying the law – the Constitution, the War Powers Act, and the AUMF (Authorization to Use Military Force) – and simply bombing Iran without any consultation whatsoever, he’s also pulling a dictator stunt … .”

Constitutional scholars concur as a minimum Trump should have consulted the bipartisan congressional Gang of Eight that U.S. law (50 U.S.C. 3093) requires before he bombed Iran. Trump’s self-presentation, non-consultation and unlawful action on June 22 was a model authoritarian narrative where one person tries to demonstrate that he alone is the king. Trump’s actions against Iran opened up a Pandora box for 340 million Americans plus our allies and no one – not even the tinpot dictator – knows what consequences this may lead to.

Knowing fair-minded Americans have witnessed the earlier cited 15 actions by their president in only 160 days and realize they’ve got 1,300 more days before Trump 2.0 ends, there are several pillars that are at risk to Americans. They include: the rule of law, judicial independence, free press, freedom of expression, civil rights, anti-discrimination protection, environmental protection, scientific research integrity, multilateral alliances, international cooperation, domestic and international human rights, migration and refugee protection, whistleblower protection, nuclear security, public health safeguards, economic stability, global supply chain access, minority and vulnerable community protection and last, but not least, congressional, legislative and executive checks and balances.

With Trump 2.0, Americans sure have a lot on our plate, don’t we? And behold, look at the calendar. Friday, July 4 kicks off the year-long celebration of America’s 250th birthday, which formally occurs on July 4, 2026. Never forget that in 1776 the Declaration of Independence proclaimed American citizens were no longer subject and subordinate to a dictatorial king.

Fellow citizens: What are you going to do between now and July 4, 2026 to protect and preserve our independence from a tinpot dictator? A couple options include: A) bow down to the tinpot dictator’s anti-democracy actions or B) reflect on the challenges facing the nation and become an advocate for policies that align with liberty, freedom, sovereignty, democracy and the U.S. Constitution.

This is your America. The choice is yours. What say you?

Contact Steve Corbin at Steven.B.Corbin@gmail.com