Since the beginning of his second presidency, Donald Trump has often launched what critics describe as outlandish conspiratorial attacks on opponents, labelling their views as hoaxes. Scholars and legal experts suggest these attacks endanger US freedoms, public health, and science.
Critics further state that Trump's extensive use of conspiracy theories is a characteristic of an authoritarian leader. They argue this approach has weakened trust in upcoming midterm elections, disregarded scientific evidence, and pushed for prosecutions of political adversaries, which seriously erodes civil liberties.
Steven Levitsky, a Harvard professor of government, noted that conspiracies are "page one of the repressive playbook," historically used by authoritarian leaders to justify repression. Julian Zelizer, a Princeton historian, added that Trump's frequent use of conspiracies to attack critics has a damaging impact on US society and democracy, affecting confidence in elections and the ability to address issues like the AI industry.
Last week, Trump barred CNN, Politico, and MS Now from White House access, leading the outlets to jointly file a lawsuit on 21 September. A federal judge in DC ruled on 23 September that the administration should immediately return the press passes, stating the punitive action was likely unconstitutional.
Trump has also made claims of a "crisis of election security" to support new voting restrictions, despite data from the conservative Heritage Foundation citing only 100 cases of non-citizen voting over 25 years. Barbara McQuade, a former US attorney, suggested this effort could be a pretext for seizing voting equipment, intimidating voters, or undermining public confidence in election outcomes.