In her new book "From Democracy To Democrazy: A Warning To All Americans," bestselling author Elizabeth Graham draws on decades of experience studying Russia and working undercover with the CIA to argue that Vladimir Putin is playing a long game with Donald Trump and US politics. Graham, who lived under communism in the Soviet Union and became bi-cultural, warns that Trump's actions closely follow the patterns of authoritarian leaders she observed overseas.
Graham's recent Substack post titled 'Heroes' draws a direct comparison between Putin and Trump. She quotes Alexei Navalny's description of Putin in TIME100 Magazine: "Perhaps Vladimir Putin's true mission is to teach lessons... He reminded us once again that a path that begins with 'just a little election rigging' always ends with a dictatorship." Graham then recalls Trump's taped call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, pressuring him to "just find about 11,780 votes" to overturn the 2020 election, as first reported by The Washington Post.
Applying Navalny's "duck test" logic, Graham asserts that if someone destroys independent media, organizes political assassinations, and sticks to imperial delusions, they are a dictator. She claims Trump is well on his way to destroying independent media, organizing politically motivated lawsuits, and that his "containment camps" have resulted in deaths, including those of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. She further alleges that Trump's closure of USAID has led to a genocide in Africa with an estimated death toll of over 15 million people by 2040, according to The Lancet.
Graham, who had a Top-Secret Security Clearance while in high school and later managed the largest Russian-language military database in the US, emphasizes that her warnings are not partisan commentary but insights from lived experience. She invites readers to join her on her Substack for discussions on democracy, Russia, and US politics.
The ebook version of "From Democracy To Democrazy" will be available at no charge March 9 and 10, 2026 on Amazon. More information is available at her website democrazy2020.org.
