Again and again, Trump veered far past the guardrails of presidential behavior. But despite the now-routine condemnations, the president is acting emboldened, as if he were impervious to the uproar he causes.

If there are consequences for his actions, Trump does not seem to feel their burden personally. The Republican tax bill appears on track for passage, putting the president on the cusp of his first major legislative achievement. Trump himself remains the ­highest-profile man accused of sexual improprieties to keep his job with no repercussions.

Trump has internalized the belief that he can largely operate with impunity, people close to him said. His political base cheers him on. Fellow Republican leaders largely stand by him. His staff scrambles to explain away his misbehavior — or even to laugh it off. And the White House disciplinarian, chief of staff John F. Kelly, has said it is not his job to control the president.

Klaas, the author of “The Despot’s Accomplice: How the West is Aiding & Abetting the Decline of Democracy,” said the White House press secretary had given an “Orwellian” response to questions about those anti-Muslim videos Trump retweeted from a British fascist.

“Sarah Huckabee Sanders says it doesn’t matter if it’s true, what’s true is what the president says,” Klaas said.

He said what’s happening now in the United States lines up with the early stages of authoritarian regimes he’s studied in other countries.

“These things are happening on a daily basis,” Klaas said. “What I’ve been trying to say for a long time is, this is not a drill. This is not the thing where we move on to the next story tomorrow. This is a threat to our democracy and to the core values we stand for.