Photo: imago, AP, Illustration: Stefan Dimitrov
Photo: imago, AP, Illustration: Stefan Dimitrov

Ideas

How to Tell If Your President Is a Dictator

A year into Donald Trump’s second term, labeling his governing style remains an elusive goal.

First published in The Atlantic on January 21, 2026.

by Marc Novicoff, The Atlantic
January 22, 2026 | reading time: 8 Min.

President Trump prosecutes his political opponents; deports immigrants, including some here legally, to foreign prisons without due process; solicits tribute payments from corporations and foreign governments; deploys soldiers to American cities that are not, in fact, in civil-war-level chaos; and puts his name and image on government buildings that quite obviously don’t belong to him.

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