President Donald Trump greets El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele as he arrives at the West Wing of the White House in Washington, April 13. via Associated Press

WASHINGTON — However scared you might be for our democracy, you are not scared enough.

The president of the United States, from the moment he regained the office, has been step-by-step following the autocrat’s playbook. He has gone after universities for not obeying his decrees. He has extorted law firms for having on staff, or just once-upon-a-time having had on staff, people who crossed him. He has targeted for prosecution former aides who challenged him. He has arrested a local judge for not helping him round up migrants for deportation. He has attacked the free press for not bending to his will. On his very first day in office, he released from prison hundreds of domestic terrorists, effectively a personal militia, who assaulted police officers in his name.