By age three, your authoritarian should be able to blame juice spills on political enemies, such as a baby sibling or a weird uncle. If he or she (but likely he) can’t, you should begin offering assistance. Tip over his cup of juice and see if he diverts the blame.
By age four, your authoritarian should be starting to demand loyalty from others, such as their stuffed animals.
Your authoritarian should start to create alternative facts by age five. If they haven’t, they might be dumb. Don’t worry, though—a lack of intellect doesn’t preclude them from becoming an authoritarian.
By age six, your authoritarian should have convinced a younger sibling that vegetables are a leftist conspiracy. The conspiracy itself should be easy for them to grasp, as it is true. What you want to look out for is their persuasion skills—are they developing at a normal pace? And if your authoritarian doesn’t have a younger sibling, make one. You don’t want them falling behind.