Jorge Folena: "Trump is a dictator and could trigger World War III"

247 - Brazilian jurist Jorge Folena described Donald Trump, the current president of the United States, as a "dictator" and warned that his authoritarian behavior could lead the world to a war escalation of devastating proportions, including the risk of a Third World War. This assessment was presented during an interview on the program "Giro das 11," hosted by Gustavo Conde on TV 247, in a debate that connected geopolitics, the American institutional crisis, and threats to the sovereignty of Latin American countries.

Folena stated that he no longer intends to refer to Trump as president, arguing that "his behavior is that of a dictator" and that he is promoting "systematic violations of the American institutional system." According to the jurist, the institutions of the United States are not functioning as they should, which opens the door to arbitrary actions, both domestically and internationally.

"A danger to humanity"

Throughout the interview, Folena insisted that the world faces a scenario of growing insecurity, caused by decisions and threats attributed to the American president. "We are facing a dictator, a man who even said yesterday that he would manage Venezuela's oil, that the money would stay with him," he said. In the jurist's view, this type of behavior reveals the idea that the president places himself above the State, as if he could manage the wealth of other countries in his own name.

Folena reinforced the seriousness of the situation by saying that Trump "does not comply with internal rules in his country and does not comply with rules established in international law," and added: "This man is a danger to humanity." In another passage, he highlighted that the president is persecuting not only immigrants, but also American citizens who think differently from him.

Comparison with 20th-century fascism

In one of the most forceful passages, Folena drew direct parallels between Trump and 20th-century fascist leaders. "There is no distinction between the behavior of Donald Trump and that of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler," he stated. According to him, the style, gestures, and rhetoric of the US president resemble the pattern of authoritarian leaders who came to power through elections and then broke democratic rules.

The jurist stated that humanity is reliving a historical moment similar to the beginning of the last century, when fascist regimes advanced in the face of the omission or cowardice of sectors of the political elites. He cited, for example, reactions from European leaders and criticized what he called the submission of part of the West to the power of the United States.

"It will be the Americans themselves who will stop him."

When asked who would be able to contain the Trumpist escalation, Folena rejected the idea that external forces would have the real capacity to stop the US president. He argued that containment would come from the American internal system itself. "Those who will stop Donald Trump will not be external forces. Those who will stop Donald Trump will be the internal system of the United States itself," he stated.

According to him, the institutional erosion has reached such a profound point that only a reaction from the people and the internal structures of the United States can limit the authoritarian advance. He pointed to signs of wear and tear within the president's own political camp, indicating that part of his base might begin to react to the worsening tensions.

Folena further stated that Trump's behavior could lead to a serious internal social fracture. "He could end up causing a civil war" and "has all the characteristics to provoke a world war," he said, adding that, in his view, global conflicts are already underway and would be aggravated by the actions of the current US president.

"End of the rule of law" and global insecurity

Another central theme of the interview was the assertion that Trump was, in practice, decreeing the end of the rule of law, both domestically and internationally. Folena argued that the American president imposes the logic of "might make right," replacing the system of rules with a dynamic of coercion.

“What is the rule of law? It is the union of all to stand up against that bully,” he explained. In the jurist's assessment, when this structure is destroyed, it opens the door to attacks on sovereignty, military interventions, and forced expropriations.

Folena even suggested that if Trump decided to act against other territories, he would be able to do so without major limitations. "If he says he's going to expropriate the Brazilian Amazon, he'll do it," he stated, in a hypothetical example of the level of risk he sees in the current scenario.

Normalization by the press and selective attacks on foreign leaders.

During the conversation, criticism was also raised that the international and Brazilian press tends to normalize Trump's behavior, while selectively employing labels like "dictator" when referring to Latin American leaders. The interview highlighted this contrast as part of an environment that favors authoritarian advancement, creating unequal and complacent coverage of actions considered violent or illegal.

Folena responded to this point by stating that if American institutions were operating properly, Trump should have already been impeached.