> Absolutely absurd that we’re at this point.

It's not really, this is the result of having a flawed democratic system.

What do Turkey, Philippines, Russia, Belarus, Hungary, Nicaragua, etc and now US have all in common?

They are ALL presidential or semi-presidential republics where a single person "rules" without needing to face opposition in a parliament nor even requiring support from its own party.

Winner-takes-all democracies, aren't democracies if only part of the electors is represented in the executive.

Presidential republics are super dangerous, they combine the perils of dictatorships with a cherry on the cake of being able to claim popular mandate.

Seriously, it's not a coincidence that the last parliamentary republic to turn into an authocracy has been Sri Lanka 50+ years ago.