What makes Trump's power grab different?

FOR MANY, THE evidence is in: Donald Trump wants to be an autocrat. If you haven't read an op-ed or heard a radio, TV or podcast commentator make that case, it's probably because you've tried hard to avoid doing so.

- JONAH GOLDBERG

A PORTRAIT of President Trump hangs on the Labor Department headquarters in Washington.

It would require virtually never watching cable news, including pro-Trump outlets, because there are few things Fox News and its imitators love more than running clips of MSNBC hosts and other "resistance" types, not to mention Democratic politicians, melting down over Trump's "war on democracy," "authoritarian power-grabs," etc.

Move further to the right, and you'll find populists who want Trump to be an autocrat. They use terms like "Red Caesarism," or "neomonarchism," while others pine for an American Pinochet or Francisco Franco or compare Trump to biblical figures like the Persian King Cyrus or ancient Israel's King David. I can't really blame anyone for taking these pathetic Bonapartists at their word.

In fairness, Trump recently said "I'm not a dictator." Though he did add that as president he can do "whatever I want." Still, I know it's a lot to ask, but let's put aside the question of whether Trump actually wants to be a dictator.

There's a lesser charge that is much easier to prove. Trump very much wants people to talk about him like he's a dictator. Whether it's cosplaying, trolling or something more sinister, his posturing is a surefire way to guarantee that people will talk about him and his strength because his detractors and defenders alike cannot resist it.