Donald Trump’s erratic behavior fuels fears of authoritarian shift in US

Republican aides acknowledge President Donald Trump’s increasingly unstable conduct, citing a recent heated encounter with Senator Bill Cassidy, who described Trump as a “lunatic” and warned that the president’s language resembled that of a school playground. Mental‑health experts have also voiced alarm, noting symptoms such as compulsive late‑night social‑media posts, fixation on perceived enemies and the danger of a commander‑in‑chief with sole authority over thousands of nuclear weapons.

Conservative commentator William Kristol warned that, despite Trump’s age and erratic actions, a cohort of younger loyalists—referred to as “young henchmen”—are rapidly reshaping the government. He listed officials such as Acting DNI Bill Pulte, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and others, accusing them of “deep‑state firings” and a “maximum authoritarian threat, one that makes Watergate look like child's play.” Kristol’s analysis suggests that these appointees are using agency personnel systems to purge critics and install ideological allies, raising concerns about the erosion of independent law‑enforcement and intelligence norms in the United States.