Stacey Abrams touts 10 steps to autocracy, says 'do not let the propaganda win'

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams suggested the U.S. was on its way to becoming an autocracy on Monday, laying out a 10-step framework and urged viewers, "do not let the propaganda win."

The first few steps, Abrams said during "Jimmy Kimmel Live," begin with a president who wants expanded executive power, and appoints "loyalists" to government positions. She added, "step seven, you have to blame someone," suggesting that was when the president went after DEI and the "vulnerable."

Abrams, who lost twice to Gov. Brian Kemp in bids to become Georgia's governor, posted the steps to social media last week, and suggested in the post that the U.S. was at step nine. 

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Former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams suggested the U.S. was on its way to becoming an autocracy during an interview on late-night TV. (Jimmy Kimmel/ABC)

"Step nine you start to encourage and incentivize private violence. 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, because that’s how you quiet dissent, because you make everyone afraid that if they don’t do what you want, they might be next. And once you’ve done those nine steps, step 10 is easy. That’s when you decide there won’t be new elections because everyone is either afraid, poor, broken, or complicit," Abrams told guest host Anthony Anderson.

Anderson asked Abrams how people could prevent an autocracy from forming. Abrams gave credit to a professor at Princeton, Kim Scheppele, for the framework of her argument, and said she editorialized it.

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Former Georgia House Rep. Stacey Abrams attends the Fort Valley GOTV Community Fish Fry at the Agricultural Technology Conference Center on October 13, 2024 in Fort Valley, Georgia.  (Photo by Julia Beverly/Getty Images)

"We can fight back. We can remember that we do have power. They don’t want dissent, so protest. They want us to forget that before we had power, we had each other. So when they break democracy, when they break the Social Security system, then they slash SNAP benefits and Medicaid, make sure you’re checking on your neighbors. Make sure we’re using mutual aid. But also tell the truth. Do not let the propaganda win," Abrams said. 

The failed gubernatorial candidate added, "They will lie so often it sounds like the truth."

"We say the truth one time and when people don’t applaud, we stop talking. We’ve got to keep telling the truth, not only to push back against them, but to remind us that we are entitled to the truth. We have to believe that freedom of assembly means it’s more than just going to protests. It’s the ability to be friends with people who aren’t like you, and we have to stop believing that we are in this alone," Abrams continued.

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Stacey Abrams, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Georgia, speaks during an election night rally in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. (Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

She also spoke to Anderson about being a Black woman in politics. 

"So as a woman of color, as a Black woman in particular, I have the affirmative responsibility to speak up on behalf of everyone else because they’re coming for me first, and they’re coming for me next. Our responsibility then is to use every tool at our disposal, including politics," Abrams said.

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Abrams is weighing a third run to be Georgia's governor, a source told Fox News Digital in April, despite back-to-back defeats.