Garry Kasparov on Trump's authoritarian instinct - NY Daily News

Garry Kasparov on Trump's authoritarian instinct - NY Daily News: Summary paragraph:

"If the rule of law and the separation of powers are to mean anything in the U.S., an independent investigation into Trump’s Russia ties and his finances is more critical now than ever. It won’t be easy, but it’s only going to get harder. Trump will keep finding new ways to accrue power — and he won’t care at all how bad it looks."

The whole article is worth reading. I'll refrain from quoting it in its entirety.

"It's a simple formula: Always take whatever power is available. And don't worry about how it looks, because if you accumulate enough power quickly enough, appearances can't hurt you."

"“We’re in uncharted territory.” But this territory has been very well charted — in Russia, Turkey, Venezuela and in many other democracies that turned toward despotism. We watched Vladimir Putin navigate from the same map in Russia as he systematically destroyed every check on his power."

"Trump is surrounding himself with loyalists and family members, and dismissing anyone he thinks might be a threat to him."

"As if to emphasize how little he cares about optics, Trump followed up the Comey firing by meeting with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador at the White House the very next day."

"Trump would love to turn the FBI into a personal security and intelligence force to use against his enemies, the way Putin uses the FSB in Russia and abroad."