Could US become a dictatorship or do constitutional protections make this impossible?

[jimrtex]

Lincoln and FDR were essentially dictators.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

Lincoln and FDR were essentially dictators.

They both greatly expanded the power of the presidency, but calling them “dictators” is a bit much, isn’t it?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Lincoln and FDR were essentially dictators.

They both greatly expanded the power of the presidency, but calling them “dictators” is a bit much, isn’t it?

FDR in the period before NIRA was struck down could do essentially whatever he wanted with the executive branch's regulatory powers, and the compliant Democratic supermajorities in both houses of Congress assured that he could arrogate more such powers effectively at will. The idea that he continued to be a quasi-dictator after NIRA was struck down is hyperbolic and tendentious, though.

[Former President tack50]

Normally if you are launching a coup with the aim of creating a dictatorship, one of the things you do along the way is to "suspend the constitution" or do something similar.

[MATTROSE94]

Trump is like the closest you can get to that situation and he's not very close at all.

Not even remotely. #DiaperDon is grossly incompetent and his own worst enemy. I think there's a high probability we see a competent version of him try to seize power within the next three elections, making many of the same maneuvers but without his many inadequacies.

I agree. I think that Ron DeSantis would be the more competent version of Donald Trump and could become defacto dictator if the 22nd Amendment was overturned (which is likely considering that the Republicans could end up with 68 Senate seats and 300 House seats after 2024 and could also flip all but 10 state legislatures by 2023).