>but it's now blatantly clear to me that he deliberately used authoritarian tactics to win the election.

How on earth is such a baseless comment voted to the top of this thread? The truth is that this is a scandal, only because it involves Trump.

Pretty much all of what you've described is run-of-the-mill marketing, that has been used by all political parties for years. You also described some astroturfing, which is also widely used by all political parties (though perhaps some more than others).

How is any of that authoritarianism?

>favouring or enforcing strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom.