After The Fall

David Sirota (0:00)

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SPEAKER_5 (1:19)

China's President Xi Jinping watched a huge parade flanked by Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

SPEAKER_6 (1:29)

Myanmar's military authorities are using brutal violence and intimidation to force people to vote in forthcoming elections.

SPEAKER_7 (1:38)

The Pentagon is readying 1,500 active duty soldiers for possible deployment to Minnesota, where President Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act.

David Sirota (1:47)

China, Russia, North Korea, Myanmar, all led by dictators known for cracking down on their citizens. And then there's, wait, the United States? It's been just over a year since the return of Donald Trump to the White House. And sending armed federal agents into American cities is just one item in a long laundry list of increasingly authoritarian moves.

SPEAKER_8 (2:11)

President Trump has overseen America's largest military parade in decades.

David Sirota (2:16)

Trump's actions have put the K word on the tip of many Americans' tongues. And I don't mean K-pop. I mean, king.

SPEAKER_9 (2:24)

We don't serve a king. Honey, you serve the people. You are not a king. You will never be a king.

SPEAKER_11 (2:29)

No king means that it's government of the people, by the people and for the people.

David Sirota (2:34)

Now, that word king has often been thrown around as a compliment.

SPEAKER_2 (2:37)

You're the best, man. You are the king.

David Sirota (2:39)

But when it comes to American democracy, king is a dirty word, describing a president that many believe is out of control.

SPEAKER_10 (2:46)

He feels like he's, you know, he's a king.

SPEAKER_12 (2:49)

He can do whatever he wants. And that's just not how America runs.

David Sirota (2:53)

During the No Kings protests, millions of Americans flooded into the streets to express their genuine fear that the president is literally trying to become a king.

SPEAKER_10 (3:04)

You know, this country is a democracy. So, I feel like Donald Trump is trying to be a dictator.

SPEAKER_13 (3:10)

That's what we have our declaration for.

SPEAKER_14 (3:13)

So we don't have kings anymore.

David Sirota (3:15)

And their concern is valid. People are truly worried about a king or a dictator because Donald Trump has spent the last year acting like one.

SPEAKER_15 (3:25)

Under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff.

SPEAKER_4 (3:28)

We have hit hundreds of targets in Iran.

SPEAKER_15 (3:31)

Venezuela.

SPEAKER_4 (3:32)

Los Angeles.

SPEAKER_15 (3:32)

Chicago.

SPEAKER_4 (3:33)

Minnesota. If we go to Portland, we're going to wipe them out.

Amanda Hollis-Bruskie (3:36)

Have some of these raids gone too far?

SPEAKER_4 (3:38)

No, I think they haven't gone far enough. We're getting rid of programs that we didn't like. In four years, you don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good you're not going to have to vote.

David Sirota (3:48)

Now, it may be comforting to tell yourself that this is all new and sudden and just the product of a reality TV star president and a historically shitty opposition party. But I have some bad news for you. This isn't new at all and it's not an anomaly. This is more of a culmination or really a well-planned coronation that's been a very long time in the making. You see, what Donald Trump is doing is part of something way bigger than Donald Trump, something that's been gaining traction in recent decades. It has a specific name.

SPEAKER_15 (4:25)

Unitary executive.

SPEAKER_4 (4:26)

Unitary executive. This unitary executive theory.

David Sirota (4:30)

But when we asked people about it at the No Kings protests.

SPEAKER_16 (4:33)

Have you heard of anything called the unitary executive theory?