This page provides special recognition of exceptionally egregious acts of authoritarian behavior committed by government officials, organizations, or private citizens.
This page includes actions by Other Authoritarians as well as Liars and
(Most Recent Action at the Top)
Pete Hegseth
Secretary of the Department of Defense
White Christian Nationalist and Wecko
May 2 - Pete Hegseth, with his firm jawline and coiffed hair, was well-suited for a role as a Fox News personality. However, as the defense secretary—or “secretary of war,” as Donald Trump prefers—he has proven to be disastrous. His most significant challenge, America’s misguided war with Iran, has clearly demonstrated this. For those familiar with him as a right-wing cable news figure, this outcome is not surprising.
Matt Gertz, a senior fellow at Media Matters, noted that Hegseth’s hallmark on Fox was his fervent support for American service members accused of war crimes. Trump, who is an avid Fox News viewer, appreciated Hegseth’s stance. Consequently, what Gertz describes as “a B-level demagogue” transitioned from co-hosting the weekend Fox & Friends talk show to being sixth in line for the US presidency.
Since his confirmation early last year, the consequences of his appointment have been evident, particularly in recent weeks. A Guardian editorial criticized him for “glorying repulsively in his capacity to order death and destruction from the Pentagon,” describing Operation Epic Fury as a 21st-century crusade to “break the teeth of the ungodly.” Hegseth’s public prayers for unrestrained violence even received an indirect rebuke from Pope Leo.
Perhaps most concerning, Hegseth reportedly misrepresents military realities, including to the president. An administration official told the Washington Post, “Pete is not speaking truth to the president. As a result, the president is out there repeating misleading information.” Hegseth falsely claimed at a news conference last month that Iran’s missile and drone programs were being “overwhelmingly destroyed,” contrary to more reliable sources like a US intelligence assessment reported by CNN.
He also frequently misleads the public through his news conferences and statements. Recently, he attempted to justify Trump’s extreme threat to eradicate “a whole civilization” as a successful negotiating tactic, claiming it led to the Iranians wanting to cut a deal. However, Greg Sargent in the New Republic pointed out that the Iranians were already negotiating with Trump before the war began, and Trump’s actions largely sabotaged those efforts by believing the war would be easy and bring quick glory.
Hegseth’s background offers no indication that he could effectively manage America’s vast military operation, which employs nearly 3 million people and has a trillion-dollar budget, especially during wartime. Although he served as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard, deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, his experience falls short of the typical credentials for the Pentagon’s top leader. His lack of high-level military experience was further highlighted when he ordered top military officials to gather at Quantico, Virginia, last fall, where he lectured them on fitness and alleged wokeness in the military, concluding with “To our enemies, FAFO” (an expression meaning “fuck around and find out”).
Additionally, Hegseth is relentless in his efforts to control the Pentagon’s image and his own. Despite—or perhaps because of—his media background at Fox, he has become a staunch adversary of the legitimate press. His strict rules limiting reporters’ access directly conflict with First Amendment principles and have been successfully challenged in court. Recently, his staff temporarily barred access to wartime news briefings after photographers captured images of him at unflattering angles. In short, Hegseth is not a serious military leader.
With his aggressive rhetoric, unwavering loyalty to Trump, and appalling inability to manage this critical moment in world history, Hegseth is every bit the disaster that anyone sensible could have anticipated.
Matt Gertz, a senior fellow at Media Matters, noted that Hegseth’s hallmark on Fox was his fervent support for American service members accused of war crimes. Trump, who is an avid Fox News viewer, appreciated Hegseth’s stance. Consequently, what Gertz describes as “a B-level demagogue” transitioned from co-hosting the weekend Fox & Friends talk show to being sixth in line for the US presidency.
Since his confirmation early last year, the consequences of his appointment have been evident, particularly in recent weeks. A Guardian editorial criticized him for “glorying repulsively in his capacity to order death and destruction from the Pentagon,” describing Operation Epic Fury as a 21st-century crusade to “break the teeth of the ungodly.” Hegseth’s public prayers for unrestrained violence even received an indirect rebuke from Pope Leo.
Perhaps most concerning, Hegseth reportedly misrepresents military realities, including to the president. An administration official told the Washington Post, “Pete is not speaking truth to the president. As a result, the president is out there repeating misleading information.” Hegseth falsely claimed at a news conference last month that Iran’s missile and drone programs were being “overwhelmingly destroyed,” contrary to more reliable sources like a US intelligence assessment reported by CNN.
He also frequently misleads the public through his news conferences and statements. Recently, he attempted to justify Trump’s extreme threat to eradicate “a whole civilization” as a successful negotiating tactic, claiming it led to the Iranians wanting to cut a deal. However, Greg Sargent in the New Republic pointed out that the Iranians were already negotiating with Trump before the war began, and Trump’s actions largely sabotaged those efforts by believing the war would be easy and bring quick glory.
Hegseth’s background offers no indication that he could effectively manage America’s vast military operation, which employs nearly 3 million people and has a trillion-dollar budget, especially during wartime. Although he served as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard, deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, his experience falls short of the typical credentials for the Pentagon’s top leader. His lack of high-level military experience was further highlighted when he ordered top military officials to gather at Quantico, Virginia, last fall, where he lectured them on fitness and alleged wokeness in the military, concluding with “To our enemies, FAFO” (an expression meaning “fuck around and find out”).
Additionally, Hegseth is relentless in his efforts to control the Pentagon’s image and his own. Despite—or perhaps because of—his media background at Fox, he has become a staunch adversary of the legitimate press. His strict rules limiting reporters’ access directly conflict with First Amendment principles and have been successfully challenged in court. Recently, his staff temporarily barred access to wartime news briefings after photographers captured images of him at unflattering angles. In short, Hegseth is not a serious military leader.
With his aggressive rhetoric, unwavering loyalty to Trump, and appalling inability to manage this critical moment in world history, Hegseth is every bit the disaster that anyone sensible could have anticipated.
Stephen Miller
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
Autocrat
Feb 21 - Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, Miller, relentlessly pursues the president’s vision, particularly regarding the deportation of immigrants. He conducts efficient meetings, prioritizing progress over consensus.
Miller demands progress reports on his mass-deportation campaign and issues orders to various federal enforcement agencies, including the FBI, CBP, ICE, HHS, and the DOD. One senior official who has participated in these calls described the intensity and urgency as often bordering on hectoring. Miller pushes everyone to the limit, knowing the time is running out, and he gets on the phone to yell at everyone. No one is spared from his wrath.
In May, Miller instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to aim for 3,000 immigration arrests daily, a nearly tenfold increase compared to the number of arrests made on U.S. streets in 2024. He also demands daily updates on the ICE hiring surge, as the administration had pledged to deploy 10,000 new deportation officers by this month—more than doubling the agency’s workforce. Additionally, Miller expects regular updates on detention capacity, deportation flights, and border crossings.
Miller publicly shames bureaucrats who he perceives as falling short or resisting his orders.
In Trump’s inner circle, including the president himself, Miller is known as a dogmatic force whose ideas can be too extreme for public consumption. However, in Trump’s second term, Miller finds himself at the peak of his influence—the driving force behind a president who is already almost entirely driven by his instincts.
Miller has attempted to portray the nation’s partisan political disagreements as an existential conflict, a battle between “forces of wickedness and evil” and the nation’s noble, virtuous people—a predominantly native-born group that traces its lineage and legacy back to Athens, Rome, Philadelphia, and Monticello. He accuses federal judges of “legal insurrection” for ruling against Trump’s policies, characterizes the Democratic Party as a “domestic extremist organization,” and dismisses the outcomes of even legal immigration programs as “the Somalification of America.” Furthermore, he has declared an end to the post-World War II order of “international niceties” in favor of a world that rebukes the weak, governed by strength, force, and power, as he articulated this week when discussing recent military action against Venezuela.
Critics perceive Miller as the smirking embodiment of everything they consider dangerous and authoritarian about the Trump administration. He has been labeled a Nazi, a neo-Nazi, a white supremacist, a kapo, and Lord Voldemort. Posters of Miller, featuring pursed lips and furrowed brows, have been widely displayed around the nation’s capital, adorned with the words “CREEP” and “FASCISM AIN’T PRETTY.” Even his own uncle has denounced him, expressing concern that if Miller’s immigration policies had been implemented a century ago, their family—who had fled anti-Jewish pogroms in Europe—would have been exterminated.
Miller, despite internalizing criticism or acknowledging parallels to his lineage, has not demonstrated any interest or ability to moderate his views, even among friends or colleagues. He has become an accelerant for the president’s most incendiary impulses, shaping the lives of individual Americans in nearly every aspect of their lives. His tendency to overreach and his willingness to use government power against those who oppose him, including his liberal neighbors accused of threatening his family, further underscore his problematic behavior.
Miller’s actions extend beyond immigration. He actively pushes for the deportation of undocumented immigrants and seeks to narrow or close legal immigration pathways, particularly for individuals from impoverished, non-majority-white, and non-Christian nations. These actions have been widely perceived as racist and xenophobic by many Americans.
Beyond immigration, Miller specializes in transforming the president’s whims and rants into government policy. Former Trump adviser Cliff Sims described Miller as the most effective political aide of this generation, possibly even surpassing James Baker. Sims praised Miller’s adeptness at maneuvering government levers to turn the president’s policies into action.
While Miller presents himself as the president’s loyal servant, Trump’s stances appear to have shifted under Miller’s influence. Previously, the president expressed favorable sentiments towards certain immigrant groups, such as DACA recipients and employees at his golf resorts. However, recent pro-immigrant remarks have become less frequent. “America First” has evolved into “Americans Only.”
Miller, the gleeful brawler on TV, is no actor, his colleagues revealed. He behaves similarly in private, albeit often with a touch of deadpan humor. Several people expressed their appreciation for his unwavering stance on issues, for a potentially surprising reason: They always know his position and their own. As Trump’s speechwriter during the first administration, Miller built goodwill with his colleagues by warning them when the president was about to say something contrary to their plans, giving them ample time to try and convince him otherwise.
Miller demands progress reports on his mass-deportation campaign and issues orders to various federal enforcement agencies, including the FBI, CBP, ICE, HHS, and the DOD. One senior official who has participated in these calls described the intensity and urgency as often bordering on hectoring. Miller pushes everyone to the limit, knowing the time is running out, and he gets on the phone to yell at everyone. No one is spared from his wrath.
In May, Miller instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to aim for 3,000 immigration arrests daily, a nearly tenfold increase compared to the number of arrests made on U.S. streets in 2024. He also demands daily updates on the ICE hiring surge, as the administration had pledged to deploy 10,000 new deportation officers by this month—more than doubling the agency’s workforce. Additionally, Miller expects regular updates on detention capacity, deportation flights, and border crossings.
Miller publicly shames bureaucrats who he perceives as falling short or resisting his orders.
In Trump’s inner circle, including the president himself, Miller is known as a dogmatic force whose ideas can be too extreme for public consumption. However, in Trump’s second term, Miller finds himself at the peak of his influence—the driving force behind a president who is already almost entirely driven by his instincts.
Miller has attempted to portray the nation’s partisan political disagreements as an existential conflict, a battle between “forces of wickedness and evil” and the nation’s noble, virtuous people—a predominantly native-born group that traces its lineage and legacy back to Athens, Rome, Philadelphia, and Monticello. He accuses federal judges of “legal insurrection” for ruling against Trump’s policies, characterizes the Democratic Party as a “domestic extremist organization,” and dismisses the outcomes of even legal immigration programs as “the Somalification of America.” Furthermore, he has declared an end to the post-World War II order of “international niceties” in favor of a world that rebukes the weak, governed by strength, force, and power, as he articulated this week when discussing recent military action against Venezuela.
Critics perceive Miller as the smirking embodiment of everything they consider dangerous and authoritarian about the Trump administration. He has been labeled a Nazi, a neo-Nazi, a white supremacist, a kapo, and Lord Voldemort. Posters of Miller, featuring pursed lips and furrowed brows, have been widely displayed around the nation’s capital, adorned with the words “CREEP” and “FASCISM AIN’T PRETTY.” Even his own uncle has denounced him, expressing concern that if Miller’s immigration policies had been implemented a century ago, their family—who had fled anti-Jewish pogroms in Europe—would have been exterminated.
Miller, despite internalizing criticism or acknowledging parallels to his lineage, has not demonstrated any interest or ability to moderate his views, even among friends or colleagues. He has become an accelerant for the president’s most incendiary impulses, shaping the lives of individual Americans in nearly every aspect of their lives. His tendency to overreach and his willingness to use government power against those who oppose him, including his liberal neighbors accused of threatening his family, further underscore his problematic behavior.
Miller’s actions extend beyond immigration. He actively pushes for the deportation of undocumented immigrants and seeks to narrow or close legal immigration pathways, particularly for individuals from impoverished, non-majority-white, and non-Christian nations. These actions have been widely perceived as racist and xenophobic by many Americans.
Beyond immigration, Miller specializes in transforming the president’s whims and rants into government policy. Former Trump adviser Cliff Sims described Miller as the most effective political aide of this generation, possibly even surpassing James Baker. Sims praised Miller’s adeptness at maneuvering government levers to turn the president’s policies into action.
While Miller presents himself as the president’s loyal servant, Trump’s stances appear to have shifted under Miller’s influence. Previously, the president expressed favorable sentiments towards certain immigrant groups, such as DACA recipients and employees at his golf resorts. However, recent pro-immigrant remarks have become less frequent. “America First” has evolved into “Americans Only.”
Miller, the gleeful brawler on TV, is no actor, his colleagues revealed. He behaves similarly in private, albeit often with a touch of deadpan humor. Several people expressed their appreciation for his unwavering stance on issues, for a potentially surprising reason: They always know his position and their own. As Trump’s speechwriter during the first administration, Miller built goodwill with his colleagues by warning them when the president was about to say something contrary to their plans, giving them ample time to try and convince him otherwise.
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