During an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Monday night, Stacey Abrams outlined what she describes as a 10-step progression toward autocracy, warning viewers against accepting “propaganda” as truth.
Speaking with guest host Anthony Anderson, the Democrat and two-time Georgia gubernatorial candidate detailed her framework, which she credits to Princeton professor Kim Scheppele, though she noted adding her own editorial perspective. According to Abrams, the process begins with a president seeking expanded executive authority and installing loyalists in key government roles.
“Step seven, you have to blame someone,” Abrams explained, referencing what she characterized as attacks on DEI initiatives and vulnerable populations. She had previously shared these steps on social media, suggesting the country had reached step nine.
Abrams says private violence encouraged
Abrams described this penultimate stage as encouraging private violence and deploying military forces inappropriately. “You send the U.S. Marines into spaces they should not be. You send the National Guard in. You kidnap people off of the streets and pretend that’s normal,” she said, arguing this creates fear to suppress dissent. The final step, she claimed, involves eliminating future elections once the population becomes “afraid, poor, broken, or complicit.”
When Anderson asked about preventing such outcomes, Abrams emphasized the power of collective action. She advocated for continued protest, community mutual aid when social programs face cuts, and persistent truth-telling despite potential backlash.
‘Keep telling the truth’
“They will lie so often it sounds like the truth,” Abrams stated. “We say the truth one time and when people don’t applaud, we stop talking. We’ve got to keep telling the truth.”
The former candidate also discussed her perspective as a Black woman in politics, saying she feels an “affirmative responsibility” to speak for others since, in her view, marginalized communities face threats first.
Abrams, who lost gubernatorial races to Brian Kemp in 2018 and 2022, is reportedly considering a third campaign for Georgia governor though she’s neither confirmed or denied her intentions.
