If you were to have an honest conversation with Donald Trump, he would probably confide that he believes all of politics is just a ruthless, vicious, no-holds-barred struggle that has as its ultimate goal the acquisition of absolute and permanent power; that democracy is just window dressing, and any rules for the peaceful acquisition and transfer of power are just a facade. Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Xi JinPing and the rest of history’s despots would certainly wholeheartedly agree with that assessment. This is why he probably has no intention of honoring the democratic process unless the results are favorable to him. This is also why he is working to 1) tilt elections in his favor through gerrymandering and voting restrictions, 2) sew distrust in democracy itself, 3) undermine faith in our journalism, and 4) stoke cynicism in the judiciary when judges don’t rubber stamp his actions, among other things. You can bet therefore his ultimate goal is to establish a one-party autocracy with him as its absolute and unassailable leader. This year’s elections will reveal how far he’s willing to go to achieve that goal.