Yale historian and author Timothy Snyder’s 2017 book, 'On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century,' came out just a month after Trump began his first term, and opened with the warning: “Do Not Obey in Advance.”

Niw in 2024, that message has been widely cited following ABC News’s decision to settle a Trump defamation case by donating $15 million to his future presidential library.

Major tech leaders have also cozied up to the president-elect in recent days, including with major donations to Trump’s inauguration. “There is a problem when the people who have the most money set the example of yielding to power first,” says Snyder. “It’s textbook anticipatory obedience.”