Historian argues GOP’s shift to authoritarianism was enabled by its own leaders
Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat says the Republican Party’s turn toward authoritarianism was driven by established GOP figures who embraced Donald Trump, not by the president alone.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s recent Substack article argues that the GOP’s drift toward authoritarianism cannot be blamed solely on Donald Trump, but on party insiders who paved the way. She writes that the party was already primed for a rule-breaking, polarizing figure before Trump’s 2015 campaign launch, with established Republicans normalizing his style. Former Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions’ early endorsement gave Trump mainstream credibility, while former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy moved from private doubts to public defense, exemplifying a culture of secrecy and loyalty.
Ben-Ghiat also cites Mitch McConnell and a broader media ecosystem that welcomed far-right, white-supremacist and gun-rights extremes. The historian concludes that Republican leaders repeatedly chose accommodation over resistance, allowing Trump’s anti-democratic actions to go unchecked.
Why it matters
It shows how internal party dynamics can enable authoritarian shifts, affecting democratic governance.
In this story
