#autocracy

#autocracy

The cult of personality was apparent as Donald Trump's cabinet convened on Wednesday in a marathon session that could have embarrassed even a seasoned strongman, providing for three hours and 17 minutes of fawning television coverage. There was Steve Witkoff, the president's top envoy and negotiator, standing up in the increasingly gilded Cabinet Room, offering praise that could have made even Vladimir Putin blush.

If you follow regularly what is said by those who are in charge of the federal government right now, there is a weak commitment to what we understood...how a liberal democracy is supposed to work.

Donald Trump's military parade this weekend will bring thousands of troops out to march, while dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers roll down the streets and fighter jets hum overhead.

The United States often allies with unsavory foreign regimes for strategic reasons, but must weigh the value of such partnerships against the behavior of those regimes.