A pitiless crackdown on on illegal immigration. A hardline approach to law and order. A purge of “gender ideology” and “wokeness” from the nation’s schools. Erosions of academic freedom, judicial independence and the free press. An alliance with Christian nationalism. An assault on democratic institutions.
The “electoral autocracy” that is Viktor Orbán’s Hungary has been long revered by Donald Trump and his “Make America Great Again” (Maga) movement. Now admiration is turning into emulation. In the early weeks of Trump’s second term as US president, analysts say, there are alarming signs that the Orbánisation of America has begun.
Democracy flatlined—time of death: circa 1980. Trump’s Orbán fanfic is bootleg authoritarianism, but both parties built the coffin. “Freedom” is just the brand name for auctioned infrastructure. Christian nationalism? A faith-based grift to sanctify oligarchic looting. Courts, media, schools—compliant subsidiaries, not casualties.
The rot isn’t new—it’s generational decay dressed as crisis. “Erosion” absolves the architects; we’ve been drowning in neoliberal rot since they sold labor to Wall Street. MAGA’s the stench, not the wound. Voting? A ritual to pacify the herd. The machine runs on apathy and cheap outrage. Wake up—you’re the product.