"Tyranny Begins With Silencing The Truth"

autocracy doesn’t arrive with tanks in the streets or jackboots pounding down your door. No, it creeps in behind a velvet curtain, disguised as “policy changes.”

Let me tell you something I’ve been screaming from the rooftops since the day I broke ranks with Donald J. Trump; autocracy doesn’t arrive with tanks in the streets or jackboots pounding down your door. No, it creeps in behind a velvet curtain, disguised as “policy changes,” “press pool adjustments,” and a whole lot of gaslighting. What we’re seeing now; Trump’s attempt to dissolve the First Amendment into a puddle of propaganda, is a masterclass in democratic erosion. And, like I’ve said for years, there are two things every aspiring autocrat needs: control the message, and control the muscle.

Let’s start with the message.

This week, Trump’s White House quietly yanked the permanent press pool credentials from wire services like Reuters and Bloomberg. That might not sound like the start of a dictatorship to you; but trust me, this isn’t just a reshuffling of press seating arrangements. This is Pravda 101. This is a calculated, strategic chokehold on independent journalism, and it’s happening right in front of our eyes.

Let’s not pretend we don’t know the motive here. Trump doesn’t want reporters trailing him who might, God forbid, report the truth. What he wants are loyalists; sycophants who’ll nod like bobbleheads while he spews whatever reality-bending nonsense he’s cooked up that morning. And if you dare to report facts that contradict his narrative? You're out. Just ask the Associated Press. They were banned from the pool because they wouldn’t call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” Yes, really. This isn’t satire; it’s policy now.

A federal judge, one of the few adults left in the room, ruled that the AP was targeted in clear violation of First Amendment protections. In response, the White House did what it does best; ignored the ruling and filed an appeal. Because of course they did. Why uphold the Constitution when you can run it through a shredder?

Trump’s goal is painfully transparent: eliminate the watchdogs. Because when there’s no one watching, there’s no one to bark. Without Reuters, AP, Bloomberg; without a real press corps, there’s no more fact-checking. No more accountability. Just unchallenged lies pumped through the MAGA media echo chamber. OANN, Newsmax, and Fox will have front-row seats, whispering sweet nothings into the ears of his base, while the rest of us are left screaming into the void.

And that’s just half the plan.

Let’s move on to the muscle.

I’ve warned repeatedly; Trump isn’t just a narcissist with a Truth Social habit. He’s a wannabe autocrat with a playbook. And like every strongman before him, he knows that to truly seize power, you need control of the armed forces. Since re-election, Trump has been busy stacking the Pentagon with loyalists; men and women who owe him their careers and, in some twisted cases, their allegiance. Not to the country. Not to the constitution. To him.

These aren't seasoned military strategists; these are political appointees masquerading in uniform. The kind of people who’ll smile while Trump waves a Bible upside-down in front of a church he’s never attended, after gassing peaceful protesters to clear the path.

Now, I still have faith in our service members. I believe the rank-and-file would sooner walk out than follow an unlawful order. But faith isn’t a defense strategy. And if Trump were to command military action under the guise of a national emergency; or some other manufactured chaos, who’s stopping him? Who's calling bullshit if the press has already been silenced? Or, if the press is working for him?

This is the blueprint, my friends.

Step one: Muzzle the press. Replace hard questions with softball fluff from pre-approved loyalists.
Step two: Infiltrate the military command structure with loyalists. Undermine the chain of command. Make the generals beholden to the man, not the mission.
Step three? That’s when democracy breathes its last breath.

Sound dramatic? I sure as hell hope it does. Because this is no longer theoretical. This isn’t some Harvard lecture on the fragility of democratic norms. This is real. This is now. And it’s not happening in some distant, war-torn nation. It’s happening right here. In the White House. In plain sight.

I know this playbook. I was there. I saw how the sausage gets made, and believe me, it’s rotten to the core.

So if you’re still holding out hope that the system will “correct itself”; wake up. Trump is not an aberration. He’s a symptom. And the disease is spreading.

The time for polite editorials and pearl-clutching is over. The time for outrage; sustained, unrelenting outrage, is now.

Because when the press is silenced and the military is loyal only to the man in power, what you have left isn't a democratic republic. It's a regime.

And we’re halfway there.

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