A few points I will raise:

• CoG/devolution, by definition, are not taking place in the context of normal functioning of government, but in wartime, and particularly in a scenario in which foreign powers have overthrown the legitimate government of the United States via a campaign of infiltration and irregular warfare. EO13961 makes this very clear, as the CoG plan that Trump lays out in that order draws on the President's wartime powers as its legal foundation.

• In this context of wartime, the enemy controls the media nearly in its entirety, including many influential figures on our side (Fox News, Alex Jones, etc.), along with countless other influential institutions. They also have innumerable agents inside the government, many occupying elected office. The enemy is everywhere, and Trump is one of the only people in government who is acting for the people who elected him. Say what you will about the methods, but he is doing what has to be done.

• Because the enemy controls the media, and thus has massive influence over public opinion and perception (critically important in irregular warfare), Trump and company had no option but to act covertly in order to avoid traps set by the enemy and avoid charges of committing a coup or insurrection. Devolution Part 12 lays this out especially well by highlighting the Transition Integrity Project, which was a set of wargames to set off a civil war in the US if Trump remained in office after 1/20/2021 for any reason. He ended up doing the one thing that no one expected (including the swamp; they were sure that he was going to legitimize their attempt at a color revolution by having the election corrected via some method or another): he left office peacefully.

• Although Trump is off stage, the enemy is now attacking their own legitimacy and public image on a daily basis. Trump and company have basically turned their color revolution tactics against them. When Trump and co. do move to take them down, whenever that is and whatever form that takes, it will be with an overwhelming majority of the public behind them. Devolution safeguards the core functions of the government while this process takes place.

Devolution is an extreme measure, I agree with you, but it was and is necessary due to the circumstances of the war we are fighting and the widespreadness of the enemy. It is part of a much larger plan to get the people to take back the country themselves. In that sense, it is not at all authoritarian.