Gary Kasparov writes some very interesting things these days, especially about Putin. And when trump was elected he said that it would be a very stern test of the checks and balances in their system, as the first thing a potential despot will do is begin systematically dismantling them, even if they don't at the time realise themselves it is a road they are on that ends up with them as a despotic ruler. At some point they just end up in the situation that it is their only option as allowing anyone else in power will result in them being imprisoned or worse.
Whilst I don't believe we are in that situation with trump, I can certainly see why the comparisons are being made