Yes, we are curently in an authoritarian state.
We have armed, masked government agents occupying US cities, whose budget just tripled while the rest of law enforcement had their budgets cut. This agency explicitly advertises white supremacy and loyalty to Trump as their guiding ideology. They’re rounding up people in vans, dissappearing them, violating their rights to due process, ignoring court orders, and building massive concentration camps. They are purging the government of those who are not loyal to the Trump’s lies and eviscerating any independent authority. They are weaponizing the government against perceived enemies. Congressional statutes are willfully violated. The President is extorting media companies and forcing them to fire people who criticize him. They are openly rigging the midterms. He is openly corrupt is ways we have never seen personally benefiting from his office and using agencies to maximize his interests.
He doesnt have that “right.” But he is right that he is now a dictator. He has never faced any consequences for his lawlessness last time and is going all in this time.