Trump pushing the U.S. towards authoritarianism, survey finds

Three major reports out this month say President Trump has damaged American democracy at remarkable speed — pushing the country closer to authoritarianism.

Bright Line Watch, which surveys more than 500 scholars in the U.S., finds that through tactics such as amassing executive power and attacking the media, Trump has pushed the U.S. to a point nearly midway between liberal democracy and dictatorship. Another report out by Sweden’s V-Dem Institute found America’s democracy ranking plunged last year from 20th to 51st out of 179 countries — a sign, it said, that the country’s democracy is being dismantled at an unprecedented pace.

Trump has repeatedly said he is no dictator, and the White House dismissed the findings, calling it quote “a ridiculous claim made by an irrelevant, blatantly biased organization.”