Dave Davies

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.

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.

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.

And I wonder if there was some credibility to that in the prosecution of Donald Trump in the hush money case, where it was a state prosecution for him, the money that he paid to keep the affair with Stormy Daniels quiet as the election was approaching.

And I wonder if there was some credibility to that in the prosecution of Donald Trump in the hush money case, where it was a state prosecution for him, the money that he paid to keep the affair with Stormy Daniels quiet as the election was approaching.

And I wonder if there was some credibility to that in the prosecution of Donald Trump in the hush money case, where it was a state prosecution for him, the money that he paid to keep the affair with Stormy Daniels quiet as the election was approaching.

And what he was actually convicted of was 34 counts of falsely entering business records, misstating the purpose of an expenditure, which I have to believe is the Technically, the kind of thing that happens in business is all the time. In this case, you can argue that it was – yes, it was to shield information from voters on the eve of the presidential election.

And what he was actually convicted of was 34 counts of falsely entering business records, misstating the purpose of an expenditure, which I have to believe is the Technically, the kind of thing that happens in business is all the time. In this case, you can argue that it was – yes, it was to shield information from voters on the eve of the presidential election.

And what he was actually convicted of was 34 counts of falsely entering business records, misstating the purpose of an expenditure, which I have to believe is the Technically, the kind of thing that happens in business is all the time. In this case, you can argue that it was – yes, it was to shield information from voters on the eve of the presidential election.

But it was information about a consensual sexual encounter. And again, that's not been uncommon among powerful politicians in the past. What do you make of that? Is there an argument that the democrats went too far in that example?

But it was information about a consensual sexual encounter. And again, that's not been uncommon among powerful politicians in the past. What do you make of that? Is there an argument that the democrats went too far in that example?

But it was information about a consensual sexual encounter. And again, that's not been uncommon among powerful politicians in the past. What do you make of that? Is there an argument that the democrats went too far in that example?

We're going to take another break here. We are speaking with Stephen Levitsky. He is a professor of government at Harvard and co-author with Lucan a way of a new article in the journal Foreign Affairs. It's titled The Path to American Authoritarianism. We'll continue our conversation after this short break. This is Fresh Air.

We're going to take another break here. We are speaking with Stephen Levitsky. He is a professor of government at Harvard and co-author with Lucan a way of a new article in the journal Foreign Affairs. It's titled The Path to American Authoritarianism. We'll continue our conversation after this short break. This is Fresh Air.

We're going to take another break here. We are speaking with Stephen Levitsky. He is a professor of government at Harvard and co-author with Lucan a way of a new article in the journal Foreign Affairs. It's titled The Path to American Authoritarianism. We'll continue our conversation after this short break. This is Fresh Air.

One thing that distinguishes this administration from others is the outsized influence of Elon Musk, the billionaire head of a social media company and other companies. He's had this enormous influence on the administration through his efforts to cut staff and budgets and all of that. Is there anything comparable to this in other democracies that have slid towards authoritarianism?

One thing that distinguishes this administration from others is the outsized influence of Elon Musk, the billionaire head of a social media company and other companies. He's had this enormous influence on the administration through his efforts to cut staff and budgets and all of that. Is there anything comparable to this in other democracies that have slid towards authoritarianism?