"Donald Trump launched an assault on any source of authority besides himself-prosecuting his political enemies, punishing dissenters both in and out of government, and following his own impulses regardless of law or norms. As the first year of Trump's second term drew to a close, the administration launched an operation to arrest the Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro without bothering to seek congressional assent,"
"Since then, American democracy has started to show signs of life: The popularity Trump enjoyed after the election has vanished, protesters have marched in record numbers to oppose his one-man rule, and citizens have shown up to defend their neighbors from immigration enforcement and other federal forces. That bravery has helped encourage opposition politicians to take more and more forceful stands."
"None of this means that American democracy as we know it will survive-especially given the threat of Trump's potential interference in the 2026 and 2028 elections-but it has a pulse. As Trump's term goes on, the administration appears less capable of establishing durable authoritarian rule, and the possibility that the nation will find a way through the chaos with self-government intact no longer seems"
The past year brought severe assaults on institutional authority, with a president prosecuting political enemies, punishing dissenters, flouting laws and norms, and taking unilateral actions such as an operation to arrest Nicolás Maduro, a fixation on seizing Greenland, and asserting "absolute immunity" for an ICE agent. Experts now contend America can no longer be characterized as a democracy. Popular support for the president has collapsed, mass protests and citizen defenses have increased, opposition politicians have grown bolder, and district judges have imposed legal roadblocks. The administration appears less able to entrench authoritarian rule, yet democratic survival remains uncertain given election-interference risks.
Read at The Atlantic
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