An Authoritarian U.S.A.

As we live through the stress of the countdown to 270 Electoral College votes, we need to understand that Joe Biden will be the 46th president of the United States; Donald Trump is a very disturbed person who has damaged our democracy; and that a substantial number of the more than 69 million Americans who voted for Trump will believe the election was “rigged.”

At this writing, it’s clear that Vice President Biden will carry Pennsylvania and Arizona, and is likely to carry Georgia and Nevada. He will have more than the requisite Electoral College votes to occupy the White House and lead our nation. It is equally clear that President Trump will continue to lie and characterize the election as somehow stolen by the Democrats, probably not concede the election, and continue to pursue spurious law suits while engaging in re-counts. What is critical to understand is that it was American democracy which was at stake in this election. What happens after the election will determine its strength. Each of us has a role to play in repairing the damage Donald Trump has done to it.

Donald Trump’s post election behavior is an exacerbation of the attack on American democracy he engaged in throughout his presidency. His attempt to convert our democratic institutions into Trump institutions was an attack on the way we carry out the work of our democracy. His relentless campaign characterizing this election as “rigged” was, and continues to be, unprecedented in the history of the American presidency. However, it’s his post election behavior, and the way his base is responding to it which is the most troubling.