When Donald Trump began his third run for president back in 2022, he said very explicitly that his campaign was organized around vengeance for his 2020 humiliation. "I am your retribution!" he proclaimed, assuring his devoted cult following that their belief in the Big Lie would be rewarded when he exacted punishment on the political enemies who had denied their Dear Leader his second term. It was a speech you might expect from any demagogue. But in Trump's case, it also spoke to the deep psychic wound he suffered as a malignant narcissist unable to accept that he had lost so it was hard to know if he had any other goals beyond the need to prove that he was a winner after all. As the campaign has gone on it's become clear that Trump has actually evolved into a true authoritarian. Yes, he's still simple-minded and juvenile in many ways, and it will always be all about him, but it's become clear that his attraction to strongmen has developed into a yearning to be a member of their club in a new and different way — and he's becoming more and more open about it.

We always knew that Donald Trump admired Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. His bromance with the tyrannical North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and affection for various Middle Eastern leaders was no secret. He's always bragged about his ability to "get along with" dictators. He talked about it in his soporific acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention:

I got along very well, North Korea, Kim Jung........

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