Tag Archives: authoritarians

The Associated Press reports: Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared victory in Sunday’s national elections, claiming a mandate for a fourth term as a still incomplete vote count showed a strong lead for his right-wing party. In a 10-minute speech to Fidesz party officials and supporters at an election night event in Budapest, Orban addressed a crowd cheering “Viktor!” …

The Washington Post reports: Russians “will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and will simply spit them out like a gnat that accidentally flew into their mouths,” said Putin, using language reminiscent of the Stalinist era. “I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country.” He said …

The Washington Post reports: Former president Donald Trump made an unusual endorsement in a foreign election on Monday, offering his “Complete support” for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a right-wing populist leader accused of undermining the country’s democracy and moving toward autocracy during more than a decade in power. Six opposition parties have coalesced around Hungarian opposition leader Peter Marki-Zay …

Reuters reports: Hungary ordered shops on Friday to sell children’s books seen as promoting homosexuality in “closed wrapping”, stepping up restrictions that have set Prime Minister Viktor Orban on a collision course with rights groups and the European Union. The decree also included books seen as promoting gender change and containing “explicit” depictions of sexuality. It told shops to sell …

“Because the example of Hungary is so powerful — not just in Europe, but to the world, to the entire world, not simply the west — what you can do with a relatively small economy and not many people, if you’re just serious about keeping your nation from being destroyed. “Because the lessons are so obvious, and there’s such a …

Law & Crime reports: The Turkish government is not immune from a lawsuit brought by protesters suing strongman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s security detail for allegedly assaulting them on the streets of Washington, a federal appeals court has ruled. Issued on Tuesday, the D.C. Circuit’s ruling reanimates one of the most highly publicized scandals in U.S.-Turkish relations during the Donald Trump …

The Washington Post reports: In a television interview two decades ago, the fringe congressman didn’t hesitate to say it: If he were president, he would shut down the Brazilian congress and stage a military takeover. “There’s not even the littlest doubt,” Jair Bolsonaro said. “I’d stage a coup the same day [I became president,] the same day. Congress doesn’t work. …

Reuters reports: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been hospitalised to identify the cause of chronic hiccups, the President’s office said, in the latest health scare for the far-right leader who was stabbed in the gut on the campaign trail in 2018. Bolsonaro, 66, went to the military hospital in Brasilia and is expected to be under observation for 24 to …

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 …