The United States is embarking on this path, and then democracies, who are trapped in autocracy and dictatorship, warning forward to countries that are taking over by autocratic takeover.

In a panel discussion of Mark Donald Trump’s first 100 days of his tenure, four former U.S. embassies far from the Democratic waves said the current domestic political landscape felt very familiar and deliberately created by a “holiday atmosphere” to “retreat” the opponent.

These four people - in Russia, Ukraine, Zimbabwe and Nicaragua - in a panel discussion in Washington titled "Hey, wait! We've seen this movie before: How Democratic States Reduced to Dictatorship."

They are one of more than 200 retired U.S. ambassadors and diplomats who signed an open letter calling for urgent action to challenge what they call Trump’s “attack on democracy.”

The signatories wrote: "We vow to support and defend the Constitution against all foreign and domestic enemies. At home and abroad. No one of us thinks that the second part of this sentence will work - until now."

They assert that the U.S. global power and leadership are underpinned by the Ethics Foundation, adding: “The Ethics Foundation is in serious danger now. The challenge comes from within, as President Trump and his administration attack the pillars of domestic democracy here and around the world.”

Russian expert Eric Rubin, former Moscow acting ambassador, said the early stages of Trump's second president were similar to Vladimir Putin's takeover with Russia in the early 2000s, when free and open democracies were suppressed after the Soviet Union broke up.

He compared Trump's attempt to intimidate the media with a multi-billion dollar lawsuit, calling the parallel "very direct."

"When the KGB took over Russia, the first thing to go in 1999 was press freedom and media freedom, which didn't mean it was censorship immediately. The script, which is exactly what I saw here."

He said the fear of Russia under Putin's leadership was already obvious in the United States - citing a friend's case in which his colleagues condemned him to supervisors for criticizing Trump on social media and fearing communication on Gmail.

Rubin, former president of the American Association of Foreign Officials, told the Guardian that violence and threats to public figures are another similarity to Russia, who recently launched a fire attack on the residence of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, which was a "wake-up call."

He urged Democrats to evade Michelle Obama's motto "when they go lower, we get high" and instead "call what's going on."

“When they go down, you have to see them where they are,” he said. “If you go all out and follow the rules, then frankly, the bad guys will wipe the floor with you.

John Heefey, a retired former ambassador and diplomat in Central and Latin America, warned: "The idea of ​​criminalizing opponents with opponents".

Trump has repeatedly referred to Democrats as “scum” and “pests” and talked about bringing up Republican critics like Liz Cheney, who sat on a congressional committee to investigate the January 6, 2021 rebellion and trial in a military court.

Feeley quoted a formerly jailed Nicaraguan opposition figure who Felix Maradiaga is now exiled in the United States, saying “authoritarianism is much like a virus.” Nicaragua’s president Daniel Ortega hits political critics.

“When you get infected from the virus, if your body’s automatic immune system starts automatically, you may be fine,” Feely said. "But if your body's automatic immune system cannot receive viruses or infections. By the time you show symptoms, it may be too late. That's why we're here."

Former Ukrainian ambassador Marie Yovanovitch was ousted during Trump's first term after she claimed she had blocked his attempt to investigate Joe Biden, saying successful Ukraine's attempts to safeguard and develop its democracy hold lessons of encouragement.

“Many of us are overwhelmed by the speed of what is going on, and I think some of us want to know what we can do,” she said. “There are so many areas of attack out there. What might I do to change?

"When we returned to the Ukraine experience, there are so many things people can do. Everyone doesn't have to do everything. We have to do one thing, just one thing you care about the most, or the thing you care about the most, or the thing you are most passionate about, or what you see nearby needs to be done...you don't need special skills."