A New York Times Editorial must read and that means YOU Ms. Karoline Leavitt!

Trump’s Stifling of Dissent Reaches a New Level- Read the autocracy measures at the end of this opinion.

Editorial opinion published in The New York Times:

(Maine Writer:  Seems to me this editorial should be a cc directed to Trump's 3D Copier Barbie Karoline Leavitt, JMO❗) 

The crackdown on dissent and speech in Minnesota this winter follows a pattern that is common in countries that slide from democracy to autocracy: A leader enacts a legally dubious policy. Citizens protest that policy. The government responds with intimidation and force. 😧😟💢😓When people are hurt, the government blames them and lies about what happened.

The New York Times editorial board published an index in October tracking 12 categories of democratic erosion, based on historical patterns and interviews with experts. 

Our index places the United States on a scale of 0 to 10 for each category. Zero represents the United States before Donald Trump began his second term — not perfect, surely, but one of the world’s healthiest democracies.

Ten represents the condition in a true autocracy, such as China, Iran or Russia.

Based on recent events, we (the NYT Editorial Board) moved our assessment of one of the categories — stifling speech and dissent — up one notch, to level four:

The wide-ranging abuses in Minnesota are the main reason for the change. The Trump administration is conducting a military-style operation in an American city under dubious pretenses. The stated goal is immigration enforcement, even though the state is home to relatively few undocumented immigrants. The true goal seems to be instilling fear in people who oppose Donald Trump’s agenda. Federal agents have killed two protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and assaulted and menaced others. The administration has made clear that the abusers will face no accountability.😡

The acceleration in the stifling of dissent and speech is broader than what’s happening in Minnesota. Since late last year, the administration also widened its campaign for investigating perceived enemies, such as Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair.

Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security used subpoenas that no judge approved to demand information on critics. The F.B.I. searched the home of a journalist who had exposed problems with the administration’s policies.

Our country is still not close to being a true autocracy. Many forms of speech and dissent remain vibrant in the United States, in courts, in Congress, the media and the streets (and in blogs, 😊too❗). But, Donald Trump and his allies have restricted dissent in fundamental ways. It is a violation of basic American values.

Background and methodology: The clearest sign that a democracy has died is that a leader and his party make it impossible for their opponents to win an election and hold power. Once that stage is reached, however, the change is extremely difficult to reverse.

The 12 benchmarks in this editorial offer a way to understand how much Donald Trump is eroding American democracy. The categories are based on interviews with legal scholars, political scientists, historians and other democracy experts. The ratings come from the New York Times editorial board. In our 0-to-10 scales, zero represents roughly where the United States, flawed though it was, had been under presidents of both parties prior to Mr. Trump. Ten represents the condition in a true authoritarian state. Moving even one notch toward autocracy is a worrisome sign.

We first published the index in October 2025. This version is the first update. We plan to publish future updates as events warrant.

Here is the autocracy measurement tool: 

The Autocracy Index: 12 markers of democratic erosion

• Stifling speech and dissent
• Persecuting political opponents
• Bypassing the legislature
• Defying the courts
• Declaring false emergencies
• Using the military at home
• Vilifying marginalized groups
• Controlling information
• Taking over universities
• Creating a cult of personality
• Using power for personal profit
• Manipulating the law to stay in power

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Persecuting political opponents






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Bypassing the legislature






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Defying the courts






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Declaring false emergencies






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Using the military at home






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Vilifying marginalized groups






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autocracy


Controlling information






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Trying to take over universities






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Creating a cult of personality






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Using power for personal profit






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Manipulating the law to stay in power






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autocracy