What authoritarianism experts think of Trump’s decision to pardon Joe Arpaio
“In situations where democracies become right-wing regimes, the leader usually relies on paramilitary or other extremist forces to get into office or consolidate power once he’s there. He has to dance the line between expelling them and using them. Trump’s expulsion of Stephen Bannon and Seb Gorka, coming together with his open support of white nationalism and now his pardon of Joe Arpaio, shows this dynamic well.
“If the leader does not explicitly renounce the violent rhetoric and actions of extremists, they will have done their damage even if he later purges them. The result is a new culture of violence in the country, which the other armed and security forces of society must adapt to.”
.. First of all, it is very early in the presidency and, second, it is before Arpaio has been sentenced. I think the latter is a clear reflection of President Trump’s complete disregard for the rule of law. He believes in the rule of power, in part because he has experienced throughout his lifetime that this is how U.S. justice works. However, the timing is probably, as several others have also noted, more linked to the issue that predominates President Trump’s mind: the Russia investigation. There are several key people in his former entourage who are at the point of caving to pressure to working with the [Robert S.] Mueller investigation. Trump has shown them that they have nothing to fear, because he can and will pardon them, irrespective of the circumstances. This, of course, is a fundamentally undemocratic position, but not so much informed by ideology but by naked self-interest.”
.. So I would treat Arpaio’s pardoning as a political and in particular a signaling move on Trump’s part — and a smart one. I think Trump has been very good at this — he hasn’t been able to get many things through Congress, but he has ‘compensated’ with exec orders and symbolic politics that have, for the most part, kept his base attached.”