Far more dispiriting than what the election says about Trump, is what his win says about the American body politic

Rolling Stone interviewed experts in authoritarianism, fascism, and presidential power in advance of the 2024 election.

Author Timothy Snyder is a Yale professor of totalitarian European history and author of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century .

He emphasizes that Americans opposed to Trump ’s designs should take stock, and action, now.

Snyder emphasizes that the key is “to get out in protest”.

Experts in authoritarianism insist that Trump ’s dictatorial threats need to be taken with gravity.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat warns that Project 2025 , the conservative policy and personnel program, is the roadmap “to finish the job” Trump started in his first term.

Jason Stanley is Yale professor and author of How Fascism Works.

Trump 's darkest ambition is to shift part of America ’s prodigious military might from geopolitical adversaries abroad to political targets at home.

Trump has indicated he’ll let Putin lay claim to parts of occupied Ukraine in the name of “peace” Ben-Ghiat : “What he would like to do is partly reorient military power to be used for domestic repression” Snyder: The key to resisting authoritarianism is standing up for the rights of the least powerful.