The president’s takeover of the Kennedy Center may be clownish. But clownish authoritarianism is still authoritarianism.

His aesthetic tastes tend toward gilded clutter, heroic statuary, old pop tunes, and an overall disdain for modernism. So last month, when he took over the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing ...

Why do people living in democratic countries vote for political candidates who openly violate democratic standards? A new ...