The exiled Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef has experienced firsthand how intolerant governments can silence political satire. The removal, weeks after the rival network CBS cancelled Stephen Colbert’s satirical show, follows other Trump-led crackdowns on media and academia. Political foes of the US president say the diminishing space for free speech shows Trump’s America is moving towards authoritarianism. From Egypt’s military ruler, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, to India’s populist prime minister, Narendra Modi, the laughs often end for comedians as democracy dwindles. The Turkish government asked for the prosecution of a German comedian in 2016 for performing a satirical poem about its president.