Project 2025? If you think there is nothing more anti-democratic than Project 2025, YOU ARE WRONG! If Trump wins the 2024 election and, therefore, enacts his plan to Break Biden’s and Harris’s Regime; we will be under an authoritarian autocrat’s rule. We, the people of the U.S., will suffer from the resulting hybrid democracy that Trump effortlessly generated through the weaponization of democratic backsliding.
Democratic Backsliding: The Notorious Political Pandemic
When democratic backsliding occurs within democratic regimes, it causes a decline in the quality of democracy. According to Ellen Lust & David Waldner, democratic procedures must embody uncertainty, impermanence, and constraint. So that the quality of democracy is upheld.
However, Trump’s endogenous termination of uncertainty and constraint will not only increase democratic backsliding but also infringe the civil & political liberties. Thus, eliminating horizontal & vertical accountability (Lust & Waldner, 2015). According to Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt, Trump projects behavioral warning signs that signal authoritarian behavior such as the willingness to deprive the civil liberties of opponents.
Eventually, this will affect impermanence which, at the end, will diminish electoral competition.
Threat to Democracy & Terrorism at The Capitol
The most visible threat to democracy appeared on January 6th, when the U.S. Capitol was under a domestic terrorist attack. However, the threat to democracy were not the Drain the Swamp cultists or the act of storming the Capitol.
Rather, it was the Trump-rhetoric that encouraged and tolerated violence. Which allowed the cultists to believe they were protected under the 1st-amendment’s pillar of free speech AFTER domestically terrorizing the Capitol.
Unfortunately, the incitement of imminent lawless verbal and physical action is not protected under freedom of speech as it is an exclusionary measure (Amel Ahmed, 2018).
The Plan
Bringing Free Speech back to America
Firstly, we need to understand what Trump means by bringing back free speech to America. So, Trump believes that free speech is not a freedom in America anymore. . .
. . . like. . . okay. . . whatever. . .
He believes free speech is not a freedom in America anymore because those who partook on January 6th were wrongly incarcerated. Wrongly incarcerated, seriously?
Wrongly incarcerated for freely expressing their freedom of speech by protesting (it was domestic terrorism). Therefore, Trump’s restoring solution is to fire any bureaucrat engaged in domestic censorship as well as pardoning those who were incarcerated under Biden’s administration.
Trump’s efforts to “restore” free speech will not further democracy, because exclusionary measures not only stabilize regimes but-also enable political forces to press for more democratic measures (Ahmed, 2018).
In other words, backsliding can strengthen and secure democracy in the long run.
Trump not only increases his legitimacy by contracting his public sphere of supporters, but he effectively does so by perfectly articulating his ability to manipulate words for his own benefit. As a result, his supporters feel the need to vote for him again because he is the only solution to their illusionary risk of have-lost free speech. Inevitably, the legitimacy Trump earns from falsifying reality leads to his supporters increasing his executive aggrandizement (Aziz Huq & Tom Ginsburg, 2018).
Amending the 25th-Amendment
Secondly, Trump plans to modify the 25th-amendment making clear that if a vice president lies or engages to the conspiracy of the U.S. president that it becomes grounds for impeachment and removal from office.
Moreover, Trump wants to eliminate his competition in two ways: modifying constitutional amendments and eliminating checks-and-balances (Huq & Ginsburg, 2018). Which are both mechanisms of democratic erosion.
By modifying the 25th-amendment Trump will unmercifully impeach Harris and remove her from office. In addition, Trump will order the Supreme Court to judicially review the elimination of checks-and-balances which will eventually eliminate the bureaucracy.
Remember, he appointed 3 Supreme Court justices.
Reforming Foreign Influence
Thirdly, Trump will pass reforms to stop foreign influence. By stopping foreign influence such as financial support, arsenal support, etc., he will not be suspected of allegedly working corruptly with foreign countries.
Yet, he will remain the bests of friends with Russia, North Korea, Israel, etc.?
Oh, oh okay!
If we look at Bolivia, for example, they were receiving financial support from foreign countries for governmental campaigns (Santiago Anria, 2016). This led to suspicion from the citizens, viewing their Bolivian government as corrupt which eventually caused a coup d’état.
Trump will readily and stealthily de-democratize american democracy and eventually fabricate a hybrid democracy. This is a stealthy authoritarianism tactic (Ozan Varol, 2015). Trump will successfully end foreign influence and communication. Therefore, by ending foreign influence and communication, it will be seen as this amazing caring act he is doing for American democracy.
In reality, Trump will continue perpetrating his end-all liberal democracy rhetoric to ultimately establish his Project 2025.
How Left-wing Use of Mechanisms of Democratic Erosion Increase Trump’s Legitimacy!
On the other hand, Trump’s legitimacy can increase without him having to move a single finger. For example, Biden’s administration non-politically incriminated Trump with 34 felonies.
Did Biden not libellee sue Trump?
Technically, Biden did libellee sue Trump by utilizing surveillance methods, judicial review, checks-and-balances, etc. to also ultimately eliminate his competition from the ballot (Huq & Ginsburg, 2018).
Which go against electoral laws. . .
Therefore, could we possible assume that Biden was also looking to increase his legitimacy and therefore aggrandize himself?
Not only did Biden’s efforts of democratic erosion aid Trump but Biden also perpetuated the same Trump-rhetoric.
Have we gotten to a point in American democracy where we must elect the lesser evil?
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