Ron Brownstein on Trump’s Authoritarian Playbook and Institutional Resistance
JUDJ-Prepared Summary from August 13, 2025 | Life During Wartime: Politics in an Age of Convulsion. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the speaker.
In a recent America at a Crossroads discussion, veteran journalist and CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein offered a sobering look at how former President Donald Trump is reshaping America’s democratic institutions in his second term. Brownstein, also a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, joined moderator Larry Mantle to analyze Trump’s escalating efforts to weaken independent organizations, from universities to businesses, and what this means for the future of democracy in the United States.
Trump’s Battles with Universities
The conversation opened with Trump’s high-profile clashes with elite universities such as UCLA, Harvard, and Columbia. Federal funding freezes and billion-dollar demands have placed enormous pressure on these schools. While some argue that campuses mishandled antisemitism and political protests, Brownstein emphasized that Trump’s campaign against higher education is not primarily about campus culture wars.
Instead, Brownstein argued, these moves mirror patterns seen in countries like Hungary, Turkey, and Russia, where leaders systematically dismantle independent institutions. Trump’s goal, he said, is ideological control—expanding federal influence over decisions about admissions, hiring, and even what can be taught.
The “Lando Calrissian Principle”
To illustrate the risks institutions face in attempting to accommodate Trump, Brownstein invoked a metaphor from The Empire Strikes Back. In the film, Lando Calrissian strikes a deal with Darth Vader, only to find that “the deal keeps getting worse.”
Brownstein warned that universities, law firms, corporations, and even Jewish organizations that support or remain silent about Trump’s measures are making the same mistake. By trying to “cut their own deal” and protect their interests, they embolden authoritarian overreach. In the long run, Brownstein argued, no group benefits from state-sanctioned suppression of speech and civil liberties.
Immigration Enforcement as a Tool of Power
The discussion then turned to Trump’s immigration policies. Brownstein noted that while Americans support border enforcement, they have long resisted mass deportations of long-settled immigrants with U.S. citizen children. Trump’s aggressive use of federal immigration raids in U.S. cities, however, reflects more than immigration policy—it signals an effort to normalize the presence of military and federal forces in blue states.
According to Brownstein, immigration is the “hook” Trump uses to justify deploying militarized operations in urban areas. From there, the rationale expands to crime and homelessness, widening the federal government’s footprint in ways that blur the line between law enforcement and authoritarian control.
Democratic Backsliding in America
Brownstein connected these trends to a global pattern of democratic backsliding. The steady erosion of civil society, suppression of dissent, and expansion of executive power are tactics common to strongmen leaders abroad. Trump’s actions, he said, bear striking similarities to Viktor Orbán in Hungary and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey.
The danger lies not only in Trump’s assertiveness but in the passivity—or even complicity—of elite institutions. Too many, Brownstein argued, believe they can weather his rule by avoiding confrontation or making concessions. But history shows that such bargains collapse, leaving institutions weaker and democracy more fragile.
Nothing Off the Table
Brownstein closed with a warning: in Trump’s America, “nothing is off the table.” From federalizing state National Guards to cutting funding for blue states, he argued that Trump’s agenda seeks to expand executive control in unprecedented ways. The lesson for civic institutions, universities, businesses, and advocacy groups is clear: accommodation only strengthens authoritarian encroachment.
Ultimately, Brownstein called for collective resistance. “Elite institutions of America need to lock arms to push back,” he said. Without coordinated defense of civil liberties, the costs of complacency will be borne by everyone.
About America at a Crossroads
Since April 2020, America at a Crossroads has produced weekly virtual programs on topics related to the preservation of our democracy, voting rights, freedom of the press, and a wide array of civil rights, including abortion rights, free speech, and free press. America at a Crossroads is a project of Jews United for Democracy & Justice.