Add to this what's called the "imperial presidency" - a President elected by the people has an almost carte blanche mandate that supersedes the judicial (including immunity from prosecution), and the legislative to a lesser extent. Trump has taken this to the extreme, beyond what Nixon thought he could. He thinks that he can pretty much do whatever he wants, since the American people elected him to be in the White House. People get the leadership they deserve. To people living outside the U.S. it is beginning to look like: either Trump wins (and Americans will experience what his autocracy amounts to) or he loses and the U.S. will be on the brink of civil war, which is scary as Trump followers, in denial of the election outcome, own most of the guns.