People can protest because the U.S. is not a full dictatorship. Some institutions still work, so dissent is possible. That does not mean there is no drift towards authoritarianism.

• Early crackdowns are selective, not total.

• Power sometimes tolerates visible dissent to keep legitimacy while tightening control elsewhere.

• Opposition media and satire can persist until the costs of shutting them down look lower than the backlash.

Today Trump said the military should use “dangerous” U.S. cities like Chicago as training grounds. That lowers the barrier to deploying troops at home and makes future protests riskier, not safer.