Dave Davies

The most powerful among us must lead the way, unquote. A White House spokesman said in a statement that taxpayer funds are a privilege and Harvard fails to meet the basic conditions to access that privilege. We'll hear more of our interview with Stephen Levitsky after this short break. I'm Dave Davies, and this is Fresh Air.

We've been talking about some of the troubling signs that you see since the second Trump administration was inaugurated. One thing we haven't talked a lot about is other Republicans. In your book, The Tyranny of the Minority, you write about politicians who are semi-loyal to democracy. That is to say they believe in it or apparently believe in it but tend to be quiet when it is attacked.

We've been talking about some of the troubling signs that you see since the second Trump administration was inaugurated. One thing we haven't talked a lot about is other Republicans. In your book, The Tyranny of the Minority, you write about politicians who are semi-loyal to democracy. That is to say they believe in it or apparently believe in it but tend to be quiet when it is attacked.

We've been talking about some of the troubling signs that you see since the second Trump administration was inaugurated. One thing we haven't talked a lot about is other Republicans. In your book, The Tyranny of the Minority, you write about politicians who are semi-loyal to democracy. That is to say they believe in it or apparently believe in it but tend to be quiet when it is attacked.

What's the state of the Republican Party? What's its role in all of this?

What's the state of the Republican Party? What's its role in all of this?

What's the state of the Republican Party? What's its role in all of this?

You know, in an interview with The New Republic, I read that you said that if Trump were to refuse to obey, to openly violate the law and potentially not comply with judicial orders, judicial rulings, saying that you're in violation of the law, that that's really outside of this competitive authoritarianism. You said that's the realm of outright dictatorship.

You know, in an interview with The New Republic, I read that you said that if Trump were to refuse to obey, to openly violate the law and potentially not comply with judicial orders, judicial rulings, saying that you're in violation of the law, that that's really outside of this competitive authoritarianism. You said that's the realm of outright dictatorship.

You know, in an interview with The New Republic, I read that you said that if Trump were to refuse to obey, to openly violate the law and potentially not comply with judicial orders, judicial rulings, saying that you're in violation of the law, that that's really outside of this competitive authoritarianism. You said that's the realm of outright dictatorship.

And I wonder how close are we to that right now? I mean the Supreme Court ordered the administration to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was, according to the administration, mistakenly arrested and transported to that prison in El Salvador. The administration is claiming now that he's in the custody of El Salvador and they can't bring him back.

And I wonder how close are we to that right now? I mean the Supreme Court ordered the administration to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was, according to the administration, mistakenly arrested and transported to that prison in El Salvador. The administration is claiming now that he's in the custody of El Salvador and they can't bring him back.

And I wonder how close are we to that right now? I mean the Supreme Court ordered the administration to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was, according to the administration, mistakenly arrested and transported to that prison in El Salvador. The administration is claiming now that he's in the custody of El Salvador and they can't bring him back.

Isn't the administration in effect defying an order of the Supreme Court here?

Isn't the administration in effect defying an order of the Supreme Court here?

Isn't the administration in effect defying an order of the Supreme Court here?

There were reports last week by Politico and NPR that the administration is cutting back on annual reports, the State Department's reports on countries' human rights records, removing critiques of abuses such as harsh prison conditions, government corrections, and restrictions on political participation. What's the impact here, do you think?

There were reports last week by Politico and NPR that the administration is cutting back on annual reports, the State Department's reports on countries' human rights records, removing critiques of abuses such as harsh prison conditions, government corrections, and restrictions on political participation. What's the impact here, do you think?

There were reports last week by Politico and NPR that the administration is cutting back on annual reports, the State Department's reports on countries' human rights records, removing critiques of abuses such as harsh prison conditions, government corrections, and restrictions on political participation. What's the impact here, do you think?

We talked about one of the key elements of an authoritarian state is weaponizing the state against opponents. And of course, people will remember that Trump and his supporters have said that it's the Democrats who weaponized the state. the state and weaponized the Justice Department under the Biden administration.