this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2026

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521

American democracy on the brink a year after Trump’s election, experts say (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 5 days ago by HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works to c/news@lemmy.world

70 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Three hundred and sixty-five days after Donald Trump placed his hand on the Bible and completed an extraordinary return to power, many historians, scholars and experts say his presidency has pushed American democracy to the brink – or beyond it.

In the first year of Trump’s second term, the democratically elected US president has moved with startling speed to consolidate authority: dismantling federal agencies, purging the civil service, firing independent watchdogs, sidelining Congress, challenging judicial rulings, deploying federal force in blue cities, stifling dissent, persecuting political enemies, targeting immigrants, scapegoating marginalized groups, ordering the capture of a foreign leader, leveraging the presidency for profit, trampling academic freedom and escalating attacks on the news media.

The scale and velocity of what he has been able to accomplish in just a year have stunned even longtime observers of authoritarian regimes, pushing the debate among academics and Americans from whether the world’s oldest continuous democracy is backsliding to whether it can still faithfully claim that distinction.

“In 2025, the United States ceased to be a full democracy in the way that Canada, Germany or even Argentina are democracies,” Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, the prominent Harvard political scientists and authors of How Democracies Die, and the University of Toronto professor Lucan Way, wrote in Foreign Affairs last month. They argued that the US under Trump had “descended into competitive authoritarianism”, a system in which elections are held but the ruling party abuses power to stifle dissent and tilt the playing field in its favor.

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[–] rayyy@piefed.social 4 points 5 days ago (3 children)

The orange, lying, rapist, felon, grifter, moron, mobster, malignant narcissist, asshole has single-handedly destroyed the greatest nation since Roman times.

[–] Mantzy81@aussie.zone 5 points 5 days ago

greatest nation since Roman times

Bit of a stretch. You could argue that the Spanish, Portuguese, French or British empires were long lasting, more extensive and had a greater affect over history than the 125 or so years that the US has been a major power (half of it's history - prior to that it was mostly insular). Just in language alone, let alone diplomatic and cultural ties.

But yes, he has ushered in the final destruction of the US's standing in the world. However, it was set up to fall since at least the Reagan-era which you could argue we're still in.

[–] DaMummy@hilariouschaos.com 1 points 5 days ago

insert The Newsroom gif

[–] Grail@multiverse.soulism.net -2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Hey just FYI that word is an ableist slur that entered the popular lexicon through self-help scams after two thousand years of being used to villify queer people, and it doesn't apply to Trump. In fact, people with NPD are often left wing.

[–] Soulg@ani.social 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

You can make the arguments about it targeting 1ueer people, and they seem pretty decent, but he is TEXT BOOK malignant narcissist. It's not even close or funny that it is that identical

[–] Grail@multiverse.soulism.net 2 points 5 days ago

The list of diagnostic criteria isn't the only thing to consider. The disorder must also harm or impair the patient, that's what makes it a disorder. The psychologist who wrote the diagnostic criteria has gone on record to say Trump doesn't have the disorder, because he's not suffering and he's not disabled. For him, it isn't a disorder. So he doesn't have the disorder.

Think about it, we don't diagnose a worm with Deafness or blindness, because it's a worm, it doesn't care. There's no medical utility to that diagnosis. Trump is like a worm: he doesn't need empathy or humility, so lacking those things isn't a disorder. Therapy wouldn't help him.