Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says the current political climate is the scariest he’s ever experienced, warning that the U.S. is heading toward authoritarian rule. He points to the growing power of billionaires like Elon Musk and the rise of oligarchies in America as major threats to democracy.
“These are not just tax breaks for the rich and cuts to programs for working people, though that’s happened before,” Sanders said in a recent interview on Pod Save America. “It’s about the power of billionaires, especially Musk controlling Twitter and spreading his messages to millions.”
Sanders also criticized Jeff Bezos, owner of The Washington Post, for turning the paper’s opinion section toward right-wing views and for pushing out veteran journalists. He sees this as part of a wider effort to shape media in favor of the powerful.
“You combine that with the fact that people like Bezos, the second-wealthiest person in the country, fired or got rid of most of his editorial staff and turning it into a right-wing thing,” Sanders said.
He believes President Trump’s attacks on the media and his threats to investigate outlets like PBS and NPR are clear signs of authoritarianism. Sanders also accused Trump and Musk of violating the law by cutting federal funding and shutting down government agencies without Congress’s approval.
“When Trump unilaterally cuts federal funding that was passed by Congress, that is illegal, that is unconstitutional,” Sanders said, according to The Hill. “When you have the vice president saying that the courts don’t have the right to stop unconstitutional acts of the president, that’s authoritarianism.”
“This is a scary moment,” Sanders declared.
Meanwhile, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow echoed Sanders’ concerns, warning that the Trump era has put critical free speech protections at risk. She highlighted the increasing push to overturn a landmark 1964 Supreme Court decision, New York Times v. Sullivan, which protects the media from being sued into silence for criticizing those in power.
Maddow pointed out that the idea of overturning Sullivan—once a fringe idea—has now become mainstream, especially among Trump supporters. “Trump and his allies make no secret of their desire to criminalize the media, with constant attacks on the press as the enemy of the people,” Maddow wrote, adding that Trump has openly expressed his desire to “open up” the nation’s libel laws, which would make it easier to sue news outlets into submission. In fact, two Supreme Court justices, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, have publicly supported overturning Sullivan.
Maddow linked this to the broader erosion of media freedom. “Trump has sued media outlets, and his billionaire backers have threatened to launch legal attacks of their own,” she warned. “These lawsuits risk bankrupting those outlets and shutting them down.”
She also pointed out that, back in 1964, the Sullivan case helped create the foundation for modern American journalism—pushing the press to hold those in power accountable. If that decision is overturned, Maddow argued, it would put the entire media landscape in jeopardy.
“More than six decades after Sullivan, the protections for the free press in this country are on shaky ground,” she said. “The attack on this foundational protection has been a long time coming—but it’s here now.”
