For a fascist, changing the constitution is not the only way to dismantle liberal democracy. What matters is control over the state’s power structures—the levers of enforcement, the machinery of governance, the ideological apparatus of the state. In this regard, Trump’s second term promises to be a decisive moment for the future of the United States.
In 2016, Donald Trump entered the White House as an outsider, riding a wave of discontent and frustration with the political establishment. Despite his brazen style and divisive rhetoric, he was a political novice who relied heavily on the Republican Party’s infrastructure—its donors, its political machinery, and its conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation.
His first term was a mixture of successes and failure, with significant policy shifts driven by the party’s leadership, such as tax cuts and deregulation, but also a persistent lack of direction on issues like healthcare and immigration. Trump 1.0, therefore, was still constrained by the Republican establishment—his power, while substantial, was tethered to the interests of the broader conservative movement, many of whose key players remained hesitant to fully embrace him.
Fast forward to 2024, and convicted felon Donald Trump 2.0 is poised to take power with a far stronger grip on the levers of the U.S. political system with one of the most popular campaigns in American history. Unlike the chaotic, often disorganized administration of his first term, Trump now commands a loyalist base that spans the highest levels of the Republican Party and includes a network of radical right-wing organizations that are entirely devoted to him and his vision of America. This is where the comparison to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi becomes critical.
Much like Modi, Trump has evolved from being a relatively isolated leader in 2016 to a figure who commands not only his party but the entire apparatus of government. In Modi’s first term, he was reliant on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an extension of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a powerful nationalist organization that has long been the backbone of his political ideology. The RSS, in its deep reach and influence over India’s political, educational, and social institutions, helped Modi navigate his ascent to power and maintain his grip over India’s politics.
Trump, for his part, lacks a similar long-standing apparatus, yet he has galvanized America’s own RSS-equivalents in the form of MAGA (Make America Great Again), far-right movements, religious fundamentalists, white nationalist groups, and populist conservatives. This coalition of discontented, ultra-conservative factions has seen in Trump a leader capable of translating their dreams of a homogenous, patriarchal, and often xenophobic vision into reality.
Today, the comparison to Modi’s centralized control of India’s institutions is striking. Modi has systematically placed loyalists in key positions—his party controls not just Parliament, but the judiciary, the media, and the security apparatus. The President, Vice President, and Speaker of Parliament, all bowing to his supremacy, help ensure that no significant institutional challenge can arise against his rule.
Likewise, Trump’s reinvention from a Republican outlier in 2016 to the heart of the GOP represents his transformation into a vehicle for nativist aspirations and grievances. His loyalists dominate the Supreme Court, with his handpicked judges setting the tone for decades to come. His Vice President, JD Vance (his likely successor), and a host of handpicked allies control the Senate and House of Representatives, ensuring that his policy agenda, no matter how extreme, is pushed forward with minimal opposition. Like Modi, Trump’s dominance within his party is absolute, leaving no room for rivals or internal challengers.
2024 Election draws another stunning reality: Trump’s reach will go beyond electoral politics. His brand of Republican Party will increasingly infiltrate key institutions—environmental protections, law enforcement agencies, intelligence services—all of which are likely to be stacked with loyalists who view their mission as serving Trump, not the Constitution or the rule of law.
This kind of institutional capture is where Trump will likely continue using executive orders, manipulative court nominations, and legislative action to cement a structure where opposition is rendered impotent. Trump’s vast network of loyalists will overrun any remaining obstacles to his will. With Schedule F, for instance, he plans to render tens of thousands of federal workers disposable, creating an environment where loyalty to Trump and his vision becomes paramount, regardless of competence or public service.
But, as some critics like Professor Cas Mudde suggest, the U.S. Constitution is a barrier to the kind of authoritarian drift that has unfolded in Hungary or India. The complex and rigid American system, with its checks and balances, does make it more difficult to simply "change the rules" as Orbán or Modi have done.
But here’s the rub: for a fascist, changing the constitution is not the only way to dismantle liberal democracy. What matters is control over the state’s power structures—the levers of enforcement, the machinery of governance, the ideological apparatus of the state. In this regard, Trump’s second term promises to be a decisive moment for the future of the United States.
While he may not be able to formally rewrite the Constitution, he has already gained the tools to weaken it systematically: using executive orders to bypass Congress, issuing pardons for those loyal to him, and continuing to erode the political and legal independence of any opposition.
Trump 2.0 will be more than just a personal brand of authoritarianism; it will be the final stages of an ideological shift that has been brewing for decades. His rhetoric, “day one” promises, emboldened by power, will grow harsher, and his policies will push the U.S. further toward illiberalism, much as Modi has done in India. The liberal democratic order, which has been the global standard for post-World War II governance, will be further tested under Trump. Trump may not destroy the U.S. Constitution outright, but he will rewrite the norms, subverting the balance of power in ways that may prove just as dangerous.
In the broader ideological landscape, the moral and institutional decay that Trump is pushing will create deep scars in the body politic. The marginalized, who are often the first to feel the sting of authoritarian rule, will be the hardest hit. Just as Modi’s policies in India have hollowed out protections for the vulnerable, Trump will intensify the assault on rights for women, LGBTQ+ people, racial minorities, and immigrants.
Like Modi’s rhetoric and promises of “maximum governance, minimum government,” Trump has already made his intention clear to centralize power among corporate cronies and in the name of “efficiency”, create a corporatized government where his biggest backers—like Elon Musk—become de facto rulers in their own right. Therefore, as much as the American system is designed to resist totalitarian tendencies, it is vulnerable to the kinds of manipulation that Trump’s team is preparing.
The question remains: will America be ready to defend its democracy or allow it to slip into the same illiberal abyss?