Why four more years of President Trump could destroy our democracy

 (Note: I wrote most of this in response to a question from a Trump supporter who seemed honestly interested in what I had to say. But then, the person dismissed what I wrote as "CNN and MSNBC talking points." I don't think that's all this is, and would be interested in hearing from others. I've edited my original responses, and added links where helpful.)

My interlocutor wrote: "I want to understand why and what you think in regards to why you think Trump is destroying our democracy and why do you think he is incompetent to run the country."

So I responded:

The most obvious thing is the way that he is dividing the country: fanning flames of distrust for the media, for the cities, for leaders of the other party, for our intelligence community, for the courts, the Justice department, the Post Office, etc. etc. He doesn't care if people lose trust in him or in government or even in the truth itself. He WANTS people to trust only him. (He's said as much.) A true leader would be a uniter and would be building trust among the people for democratic institutions (of which the media is most important).

Secondly, he's so committed to tax cuts (as you are, it seems) that he's willing to bankrupt the country to give his wealthy friends more money in their pockets. The very rich are getting very richer while the rest of America suffers, and he's passing even more debt on to younger generations. This is the first year in history that the debt is projected to exceed annual GDP. What galls me about this is that the GOP has for decades decried deficits as terrible for the country, and yet, under Trump, the GOP has been totally willing to extend more tax cuts. (Tax cuts, by the way, almost ALWAYS benefit the wealthy most. The oft-repeated theory is that the wealthy will invest their tax savings and boost the economy. What's confusing to many people is that while the wealthy DO "invest" in the stock market when they have more disposable income, the stock market (especially the Dow and even the S&P 500) don't represent the economy as a whole, and while the Dow has broken many records since the huge Trump tax cut of late 2018 (which makes the wealthy VERY happy and even cheers up poor blokes like me with a modest 401K), this hasn't been matched in terms of increases in real wages, income, or financial or health security of most Americans.)

(Democrats believe that the average American's pocketbook is, in the end, MORE important than the average rich person's portfolio.)

Third, Trump has destroyed America's reputation as a world leader. Leaders in Europe and Asia are laughing at Trump (and his leadership). While this might make so-called "patriotic" Americans happy -- because they WANT foreigners to dislike or at least distrust America -- it doesn't improve the world as a whole or into the future. Examples of this "America First" agenda are withdrawing from the TPP, withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord, withdrawing from the nuclear deal with Iran, withdrawing from WHO, and threatening the future of NATO, not to mention emboldening Russia and ignoring Putin's efforts to undermine the West. (When did the GOP decide to embrace Putin as a friend of the US?)

Fourth, Trump isn't even a great businessman. He inherited a lot of money. Many of the things he's invested in have gone belly up or have been shut down because of fraud. Many of his most "successful" projects (Trump SoHo, the Trump Tower in Chicago, for examples) have only been "profitable" because they have relied heavily on foreign money (especially Russian money) or because of fraud. (The Trump Tower in Chicago was built with Chinese steel despite pledges that Trump would only use American materials.) I believe that Trump is similarly defrauding the American people, by saying one thing, but doing another, repeatedly, in order to line his own (and his children's) pockets.

To the extent that Trump has done "good" things for America (and while I believe that most of the things you and other Trumpists would list are actually failures of America's best interests, but for now I'll concede for the sake of argument that he's done some good), it's because he has relied on some competent advisors. Among these I'd include Mnuchin as well as FORMER Trump advisors such as Gary Cohn and James Mattis. Many of Trump's initial advisors were stalwarts of the "establishment" GOP, which has some credibility (although I think it will be hard to regain that cred post-Trump). I'm not sure how many of those establishment GOP types are still involved in Trump's administration.

Fifth, so many of Trump's supporters (such as you) will ONLY believe the news when Trump-supporting media report that news. Then, when formerly-Trump-supporting journalists report BAD news about Trump, it's those journalists (not Trump himself) who are blamed for the news. Trump is more "teflon" that Reagan, except that Reagan's obvious moral character and principles EXPANDED his support among the population during his tenure. Except for within his base, Trump has lost support (which was obvious during the 2018 midterms and will be obvious this election as well). Even among Republicans in Congress, Trump's star has fallen considerably (just ask Ben Sasse or Lisa Murkowski or so-called RINO Jeff Flake). Many Republicans rightfully fear a huge loss this November, but they won't speak out against Trump because Trump actually does have a lot of power with his core voters such as you. Why? Well, that leads me to....

My sixth and final point. Trump has political genius. This is demonstrated by his fervent support among certain demographics, who believe he walks on water and who believe that he is a superior president. (Oddly, Trump supporters believe he will go down in history as a superior president and that someone like Obama, or Clinton, will go down as terrible presidents. This is just...frankly...laughable.) Why does his have this power over these demographics? Because he says EXACTLY what those people want to hear. Trump has an "ear" for his audience, which is why he LOVES his "rallies," because then he can test out his political lines and see what excites the audience. Because Trump has ZERO true principles except his desire for power and/or wealth; he'll say ANYthing that gets him power. And his supporters eat it up. Why? Because they (generally) feel that the "political establishment" has ignored them; they feel that the "elites" misunderstand them; and, they feel aggrieved by "reverse discrimination" and the success of recent immigrants (when in fact, the success of recent immigrants is a great American story).

Okay, seventh: one more thing (you DID ask me to tell you these things, so don't get mad): Trump says he "loves the uneducated." This gets HUGE cheers from his adoring crowds. Why? Because, generally, they ARE the uneducated. I don't say this to be mean. It's a FACT that the more educated a person is, the less likely they are to support Trump. (There are exceptions, of course, but this is the general trend.) As I've said before, educated people tend to be more liberal. You (and other Trump supporters) attribute this to the "brainwashing" we've received through our educational institutions. NOTHING pisses me off more than when you or others claim (without evidence) that colleges and universities are "brainwashing" students. How the hell do YOU know?!?! Maybe these institutions are actually, you know, "educating" people, opening their eyes, giving them critical thinking skills, opening them up to the lessons of history, teaching them how to interpret statistics and demographics and probabilities. Maybe these institutions form a BEDROCK of American success in industry, science, engineering, the arts, etc. etc. Maybe America is GREAT because we have been committed to education (generally).

Last one! Eighth: COVID19. We can't blame Trump for the emergence of this virus (nor can we blame China, by the way), but Trump's response was terrible by any measure. His claims to have been proactive (e.g. "China travel ban") dissolve quickly when examined. He didn't use the tools available to him (e.g. Defense Production Act) until very late in the crisis and he actively undermined the efforts of governors. And, what's worse, he has sidelined expertise (e.g. Fauci) when the experts don't repeat his talking points. Trump is anti-science and anti-expertise. Unfortunately, many of his followers are also anti-science and anti-expertise. (I think pretty much EVERY American who denies evolution or climate change are pro-Trump.) I'd call these attitudes anti-American, anti-education, and anti-democracy.

In short, for democracy to survive, a nation needs several things. (These things have been identified by thinkers ranging from Plato and Aristotle to John Dewey and Amy Gutmann.) A democratic society needs free access to information of all kinds: political, scientific, and historical. This means that a democratic society needs a free press and widespread access to means of communication. It also means that the citizenry needs to be well-educated so that it can interpret available information and form judgments related to it. A democratic society needs transparency in government, as well as checks and balances to prevent the executive, legislative, or judicial functions from becoming beholden to particular partisan interests. One of those checks and balances is freedoms related to speech, assembly, and protest. (Other checks and balances can be written into a Constitution.) Transparency and effective checks and balances lead citizens to trust that the government is actively working toward the public good. Democratic societies also need the rule of law, such that no individual, corporation, or political party is treated differently based on their wealth or access to power. 

One thing that democratic societies DON'T need, and in fact can be destroyed by, is huge inequality in income. Beginning with the Reagan administration, the US Tax Code has been restructured to reduce the share that rich people supply to government, leading to chronic deficits and the constant refrain of so-called "conservatives" that the US can't afford quality healthcare, housing for all, or equity in public schooling. (It's extremely ironic that the GOP strongly supports tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy but refuses to fund public initiatives designed to ensure economic and health security of all Americans.)

It can be argued that four more years of Trump can't destroy our democracy because it is healthy and robust. But only about 60% of eligible voters actually voted in the previous Presidential election.

 

Many young people are extremely cynical about whether voting makes a difference. While most Americans don't subscribe to the view that "politicians are all the same," a sizable minority do hold this view, and even if they don't go quite that far, many believe that Democratic and Republican presidential candidates are more similar than alike and that third-party candidates are more likely to work toward substantive change. 

 

Perhaps the biggest source of optimism in 2020 is that Trump has acted in such a way as to increase the motivation of people to vote. Perhaps the four years of Trump that we've already had will have an invigorating effect of our democracy. Perhaps history will look upon Trump as the savior of American democracy. Then again, even if this might be plausible, this is no reason to support him for four more years.