becoming a anti democratic authoritarian seems like a terrible idea to avoid an anti democratic authoritarian

Don’t lift a finger against the lynch mob or you will be no better than the lynch mob.

I’m hoping the electorate wakes up

Maybe they just won’t lynch me. Maybe it’ll be fine.

the institutions designed to protect us against authoritarianism hold up

Those institutions will be run by the anti-democratic authoritarians you just said you didn’t like.