They welcome Trump’s imperial presidency and unchecked executive power, seeing parallels with a transition from republicanism to empire

The Roman empire looms large in the imagination of American men, and the world should worry.

In 2023, TikTok’s algorithm uncovered a hitherto unsuspected trend emerging among Americans, mostly men, who seem to spend a lot of time thinking about ancient Rome. A more detailed analysis of TikTok data reveals they tend to favour the Roman empire over the republic, mostly because of its expanse, power and gladiators. Do they prefer imperialism over republicanism? Interestingly, for the American founders, it was the reverse. How times have changed.

So it should surprise no one that powerful leaders of the American far right fret more than most about Rome.

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