How trump is still damaging US politics

How Trump is still damaging American politics

Today, 40% of Americans don’t believe that Joe Biden is the legitimate president of the United States. Indeed, Donald Trump and his supporters continue to falsely claim the 2020 election was stolen. The foundations of American democracy are more fragile than ever.

This video coverage from the Economist highlights how trump and his ilk are a threat to democracy and their influence is still very prevalent in this new political environment.

I)

On January 6, following then–U.S. President Donald Trump's defeat in the 2020 presidential election, a violent mob of Pro-Trump supporters and far-right extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol as members of Congress were meeting to accept the 2020 Presidential Election results. This violent insurrection sent shockwaves through the foundations of American democracy. And some argue, that such a display of violence can happen again during the midterm elections of 2022.

The American political class and citizens are concerned about the future of democracy, and rightfully so. In a speech earlier this year, President Joe Biden declared that democracy could not survive in such a hostile climate of having the Trump threat hanging over our heads. As it was said in the Economist documentary, some republicans agree with Biden and think that Trump’s delusions are going too far. Moreover, 67% of Americans think democracy is in danger of collapse. On the one hand, Trump supporters state that the system is obviously rigged and on the other hand, democrats are afraid of displays of political violence coming from republicans.

II)

The Economist video puts into perspective how the Republican party is attempting to march back to power in the context of the 2022 midterm elections. Last year, state senators proposed almost 600 voting restriction bills., 93% of them were put forward by Republicans, but the majority of them were rejected. The goal was to pass laws that made it harder for eligible Americans to register to vote. And more precisely, alienating communities of color from exercising their democratic right to vote.

States such as Alabama, Arizona, Oklahoma Florida, Georgia, and Kentucky have passed 9 election interference laws in 2022. For example, some of these laws are criminalizing election officials who encourage a person who may be eligible to vote by mail to actually express their voice. As a result, the disabled community can be excluded from the elections.

But election officials are not only fearing the law. Trump fueled the abuse and manipulated his following by calling out publicly by name some election officials for their so-called “corruption”. This resulted in death threats, following election officials' and nearly causing car accidents.

The goal for Trump’s loyalists is to take full control over the elections. The Economist exhibits that 200 candidates in the running for the US Senate, and the US House in the midterms were single-handedly approved by Trump himself. In contrast, four of the 6 house republicans running for re-elections who voted to impeach Trump for his role in the January 6th riots lost their primary to a Trump loyalist

II-

Donald Trump has definitely changed American politics as we knew it. He’s poisoned the trust that a lot of Americans had in the system and it is going to take a lot of time to recover.

Therefore, the 2022 midterm elections offer an inflection point unlike any America has seen before. All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, where Democrats now have a narrow majority, were up for election a week ago. Terms in the House last two years.

In the Senate, where terms are longer (six years), 35 of the 100 seats were up for renewal. It was previously split evenly between the two parties, with Vice President Kamala Harris, the Senate President, tipping the balance in favor of the Democrats.

Americans will also elect some of their governors and a range of local officials, who decide state policies such as abortion and environmental regulation.

With these elections, a lot is at stake for the future of American democracy. The midterms will indeed determine if people who have spread lies about the 2020 election will be in charge of overseeing future contests.

Despite all the political machinations led by Trump and his ilk, democrats performed better than expected at the midterm elections while some of the Republicans’ more unhinged candidates flopped, reports The Guardian.

There were still big wins for Republicans in Florida for example, but elsewhere candidates endorsed by the former president flunked

The democrats won by successfully characterizing their opponent, Donald Trump, as a threat to democracy in the eyes of many voters. Joe Biden even said that it was the foundations of American democracy that was at stake in the ballots motivating many voters, especially young ones to express their voice. Genz and millennial voters helped make the difference in some key states for example. As 67% identify with the democratic party.

Democrats defied historical midterm patterns and will indeed maintain control of the Senate, Saturday, Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto narrowly defeated republican Adam Laxalt in Nevada. This 50ᵉ seat allows the presidential party to keep control of the Senate, without waiting for the final vote, in Georgia on December 6th. Now the goal for Democrats is to control the House. However, Republicans are still eager to take over control and are the ones favored to do it according to recent estimations. The current count has Republicans leading with 211 seats. Democrats are lagging behind at 204 of the 218 needed to gain control of the House, but ballots are still being counted in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Oregon, and New York.

PHOTOS (update si nécéssaire).

In addition to the risk of election deniers gaining power, there were concerns that right-wing militia could interfere with voting. For example in Arizona, vigilantes bearing arms and wearing tactical gear lingered near voting drop boxes. To ensure safety, a federal judge ordered them to stay at least 75 feet away from boxes and refrain from carrying arms of any kind.

But what we fear now is another episode of the capitol riots of 2020. Some defeated Republican candidates with help of militia groups might mimic their fallen leader and refuse to accept the results by using violence.