It’s no secret that democracy is under attack. All around the world, we are seeing the rise of illiberalism and populist rhetoric. Here in the United States, we are seeing it from the radicalized right within the Republican Party. And with a brazenly partisan US Supreme Court, it seems like our democracy is hanging by a thread.
Former President Donald Trump showed mainstream Republicans how effective taking intentional actions under the cover of corruption and chaos, Trumpism could work for their benefit. Recall that it was in the hazy fog of lies spread by Republicans pushing the Big Lie where Republicans enacted voter suppression laws to give them an unfair advantage politically.
While Trump distracted the Press and the Public, the GOP were working to dismantle democracy. Trump and his criminal cabal were so pervasive in their corruption it became very difficult for the press corp to cover it all.
How Trump Dismantled Democracy
Donald Trump did not create the problems facing American democracy—but he sure made them a whole lot worse. For four years, Trump systematically attacked every pillar of our democratic system: an independent judiciary, a free press, an honest election system, and more. In doing so, he laid the groundwork for further attacks on democracy—not just from him, but from other would-be autocrats as well. Here’s a closer look at how Trump undermined each one of these critical pillars of our democracy:
The Independent Judiciary: One of Trump’s earliest attacks on democracy came in the form of his attempts to politicize the judiciary. He packed the Supreme Court with conservative justices who have ruled in his favor on key issues like abortion, voting rights, gun reform, and religious freedom . When that didn’t work, he went after lower court judges who ruled against him, calling them “Obama judges” and “activist judges.” By constantly attacking the judiciary—one of the three branches of government established by our Constitution—Trump sent a clear message that he did not believe in separation of powers or checks and balances.
A Free Press: Another early victim of Trump’s attacks on democracy was a free press. From day one, Trump labeled any news outlet that criticized him as “fake news,” going so far as to call them “the enemy of the people.” He used his Twitter bully pulpit to try to discredit individual journalists, and he even barred certain news outlets from attending White House press briefings. By delegitimizing journalism and journalists, Trump made it easier for people to believe his lies—and made it harder for people to hold him accountable for his actions.
Honest Elections: Throughout his time in office, Trump repeatedly claimed—without evidence—that voter fraud was rampant in the United States. He set up a commission to investigate these claims, which was quickly disbanded when it failed to find any evidence of fraud. Undeterred, Trump continued making unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud—claims that laid the groundwork for his baseless allegations of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election. By sowing doubt about the integrity of our elections, Trump made it easier for people to accept his false claims about election fraud—and made it harder for people to have faith in our democratic process.
The Republican Party is no friend to democracy—in fact, they’re actively working to undermine it. From their efforts to pack the courts with conservative justices to their attempts to delegitimize journalism and sow doubt about the integrity of our elections, Republicans are chipping away at democracy bit by bit. And if we don’t do something about it soon, we may find ourselves living in an autocracy before we know it.