Tag Archives: authoritarians

The Guardian reports: Vladimir Putin has signed legislation that will grant former presidents of Russia lifetime immunity once they leave office. The bill, which was published online on Tuesday, gives former presidents and their families immunity from prosecution for crimes committed during their lifetime. They will also be exempt from questioning by police or investigators, as well as searches or …

Agence France-Presse reports: President Jair Bolsonaro drew criticism Tuesday for telling Brazilians not to deal with Covid-19 like “a country of fags,” the far-right leader’s latest controversial outburst on the pandemic. Bolsonaro, who has consistently downplayed the virus even as it has killed 163,000 people in Brazil,  made the comment during a meandering speech at the presidential palace in which …

The Insider reports: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday called for “humility” in the 2020 United States presidential election and began to pull away from President Donald Trump, despite being considered one of his closest allies on the global stage. Bolsonaro said Trump is “not the most important person in the world,” he said. “The most important person is God,” …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump signed an executive order that appears to provide him and his agency appointees more leeway in the hiring and firing of federal employees deemed disloyal, a move that critics say politicizes civil service and could lead to career officials being pushed out for political reasons. The President has vilified some career officials as the “deep …

NBC News reports: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro endorsed President Trump for a second term on Tuesday, becoming the latest international leader to lend their support for the president. “God willing I will be able to attend” Trump’s second inauguration, Bolsonaro said. He added that he won’t “interfere” in the election but “it is from the heart.” First elected in 2018, …

The Washington Post reports: A new book by a psychology professor and a former lawyer in the Nixon White House argues that Trump has tapped into a current of authoritarianism in the American electorate, one that’s bubbled just below the surface for years. In “Authoritarian Nightmare,” Bob Altemeyer and John W. Dean marshal data from a previously unpublished nationwide survey …

Axios reports: A number of prominent Republican lawmakers addressed President Trump’s refusal on Wednesday to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses November’s presidential election. Worth noting: None of the statements issued so far directly mention Trump by name — or why they’re speaking out on the issue now. The big picture: Trump has baselessly claimed that …

The Hill reports: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) pushed back on Wednesday against President Trump, who refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power should he lose the election in November. Romney, who is one of the GOP senators most willing to publicly criticize Trump, is the first Republican lawmaker to weigh in on the president’s comments made from the …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump would not commit to saying he would provide a peaceful transition of power after Election Day. “Well, we’re going to have to see what happens. You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots and the ballots are a disaster,” Trump said at a press briefing at the White House on Wednesday evening, …

The Washington Post reports: Hours before law enforcement forcibly cleared protesters from Lafayette Square in early June amid protests over the police killing of George Floyd, federal officials began to stockpile ammunition and seek devices that could emit deafening sounds and make anyone within range feel like their skin is on fire. The technology, also called a “heat ray,” was …

“The unreality of the left, they try to make it our reality. And I have a sneaking suspicion — and no I have no firsthand knowledge, but a sneaking suspicion — should our president be reelected, God willing, that he will dust off the Insurrection Act. “And he will have to use it to put down the enemy. The enemy …

Raw Story reports: Discussing the recent police killing of a self-described anti-fascist suspected of fatally shooting a far-right activist in Portland, Oregon, President Donald Trump openly endorsed extrajudicial executions in a Fox News interview Saturday, declaring that “there has to be retribution.” “I put out, ‘When are you going to go get him?’ And the U.S. Marshals went in to …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump threatened Thursday to “put … down very quickly” riots on election night should aggrieved Democrats take to the streets in the wake of his potential victory. The remarks from the president came in an interview with Fox News host Jeanine Pirro set to air Saturday, in which he was asked how he would respond to …

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump ignited a tempest online for clarifying that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been “very good” to him, while talking to a Christian pastor who had been imprisoned by Erdogan, during the first night of the Republican National Convention. That Trump would take time out of a hostage’s story to actually praise the man who …

The Insider reports: The Republican Party in a statement said it will not be announcing a new platform of policies to voters at this year’s Republican National Convention, but will instead pledge to “enthusiastically” support President Donald Trump. In a statement released on Sunday, the RNC announced that instead of pursuing a range of new policy goals should their candidate …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would send law enforcement officials to polling locations to guard against voter fraud in November’s election, although it’s not clear he has the authority to do so. “We’re going to have sheriffs, and we’re going to have law enforcement, and we’re going to have, hopefully, US attorneys, and we’re going to …

Reuters reports: Authorities in Belarus on Saturday detained Maria Kolesnikova, a prominent member of the opposition campaign challenging President Alexander Lukashenko in a presidential election, the campaign team said. Human rights groups say more than 1,300 people have been detained in a crackdown ahead of Sunday’s election in an attempt to clamp down on street protests that pose the biggest …

CNN reports: Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday he felt weak and might have “mold in the lung” having spent weeks in isolation after catching Covid-19. In his first Facebook live video since recovering from Covid-19, Bolsonaro said: “I’ve just taken a blood exam. I was a bit weak yesterday. They have also found a bit of an infection. …

Law & Crime reports: President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning posted a series of tweets and re-tweets featuring an array of articles and videos maligning his political opponents and praising his own leadership. But stashed between four re-tweets which originated from Fox Business News’s Jim Varney, Trump also retweeted a Washington Times op-ed which virulently denounced the president’s deployment of …

Reuters reports: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday he caught the coronavirus and recovered “on his feet” without showing any symptoms, sounding a defiant tone as he addressed military leaders in Minsk. Lukashenko, 65, has resisted calls for strict lockdown measures to contain the pandemic, dismissing fears about COVID-19 as a “psychosis” and suggesting remedies such as drinking vodka, …