Can you name a way in which Trump has exercised any power which could be characterized as 'proudly authoritarian'? The man has honestly done very little in office. He says outrageous things of course, but he has not praised 'summary executions' (he condemned the jacob blake killing) nor does he celebrate violence against the press. I understand not liking the man's policies, but the hyperbole surrounding him is just as bad as the stuff he says.

> Does your "no 'buts' regarding freedom" go so far as to tear down democracy in favor of a would-be dictator's "freedom" to commit treason?

The United States is not a democracy. It is a constitutionally limited republic, where the federal government is supposed to be highly constrained to protect the rights of the people, including nominally the right to disestablish it (see the declaration of independence). From the American perspective, tearing down a democracy that violates people's individual rights would be acceptable. Indeed, that is the American revolution in a nutshell if you ask the British, isn't it?