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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
David Smith in Washington

‘In a real sense, US democracy has died’: how Trump is emulating Hungary’s Orbán

man looks to the side
Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday. Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA

A pitiless crackdown on on illegal immigration. A hardline approach to law and order. A purge of “gender ideology” and “wokeness” from the nation’s schools. Erosions of academic freedom, judicial independence and the free press. An alliance with Christian nationalism. An assault on democratic institutions.

The “electoral autocracy” that is Viktor Orbán’s Hungary has been long revered by Donald Trump and his “Make America Great Again” (Maga) movement. Now admiration is turning into emulation. In the early weeks of Trump’s second term as US president, analysts say, there are alarming signs that the Orbánisation of America has begun.

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