Democracy on the Edge: Watching America’s Uncertain Future
Perhaps the prospect of his supporters turning against him en masse could finally be the thing that stops this descent. Unfortunately, it seems that won’t happen until they feel the pain of his moves.
In my opinion, the PBS NewsHour episode from March 21, 2025 exemplified the very best of American journalism.
The sheer weight of the news they delivered, the professionalism they maintained while delivering it, staying completely grounded by facts… and they did all of it even after the administration made clear that PBS is on their radar. In every possible way, it was journalism for the public good. I wish the whole world could watch it.
Their dedication to informing the public (even despite the potential possibility of great cost to themselves) renews my vigor to do the same. The Brie-fing is no PBS, that’s for damn sure; instead, my way of providing value to readers is the sheer level of consumption I bring to the conversation. Most people literally can’t consume the amount of news I do, and most people don’t want to! They’re raising kids or climbing the ladder or just trying to keep themselves fed, or they find it boring/stressful to watch… I found myself in a unique position to follow the news at length, and I enjoy it. My goal is to provide value by sharing it all in summary and with my honest reactions; ALWAYS providing a direct link so you can read for yourselves.
So friends, here is the most honest impression I can give at the moment:
There are substantial reasons for concern, and I AM concerned.
You’re all seeing the headlines too, so you know it’s not business as usual; what you might not see (because you’re not a giant nerd) is the extent of consensus that something is very wrong here.
I make a point to listen to people I don’t agree with (because I will be DAMNED if an algorithm dictates what I think and feel). I’m struck by how strange it is to hear the topics alone being discussed in the United States of America, and it’s not just the liberals:
PBS NewsHour (rated center-left by MBFC and lean-left by AllSides) interviewed a lawyer yesterday who openly said the Trump administration is attempting a coup.
RealClearPolitics (rated center-right by MBFC and center by AllSides) is holding conversations about what counts as a “constitutional crisis” (we’re not, yet… but it’s absolutely possible). Not only that; on the RCP podcast yesterday, Sean Trende, their senior elections analyst, was openly commenting about his concern over the possibility of the USA “being in the very early stages of a low-grade civil war.”
Foreign Policy (rated least-biased by MBFC and center by AllSides) published an article yesterday whose title literally read: Is Trump Executing A Self-Coup?
I know that’s a LOT of links, but it’s important to include them so I can point out the range of viewpoints arriving at similar conclusions; this phenomenon is not occurring among the left only.
Personally, there’s no surprise whatsoever that Trump started doing everything he said he’d do, albeit at lightning speed; what I did not prepare for, and what has shocked me to my core, is how high the number of Americans who approve of what they see. I don’t know whether it’s because they’ve tuned out and therefore aren’t seeing the news, or they believe the spin the White House is giving, or maybe don’t realize how it all affects them… or, if they truly do want it all to happen. Granted, the sting of all the administration’s moves haven’t truly kicked in yet; nor is it anywhere close to over. Still, I find myself feeling more conservative than MAGA does right now, and ‘loose’ is the kindest possible term I can use for the Trump administration’s interpretation of the law these days.
Just a week ago, Spectrum News reported Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor at NYU, is warning the United States is in a “democratic emergency” that is “getting worse every day.”
Three hours ago, the New York Times reported: With new decree, Trump seeks to cow the legal profession. By going after all the big law firms in D.C., he’s forcing capitulation… and it’s working. I’ve followed Sarah Isgur on Left, Right & Center for years, and have recently started listening to her podcast Advisory Opinions; she’s reminded me over the years (with many clear examples) that there IS truth to Trump’s complaints, so I want to be clear about that; there’s a reason that the term ‘lawfare’ popped up in the American vernacular… but the way to handle that is to pass legislation. What he’s doing is direct revenge (and as of yesterday, one could argue it’s extortion).
And as I was typing this, the Times just posted: The I.R.S. is preparing to help ICE locate immigrants targeted for deportation. There’s a federal law prohibiting the I.R.S. from sharing the information, but it appears they’re getting around it by simply confirming or denying whether the information they have is correct, rather than handing over the information entirely. It’s notable that the administration appears, then, to be seeking those immigrants who actually pay taxes; one wonders how the loss of labor and revenue (nevermind the stain on our human rights’ record) is supposed to be beneficial for Americans.
One might also wonder why he’s not out getting the “millions of people from jails, from prisons, from insane asylums, from mental institutions…” he said Joe Biden was letting in.
It’s almost like this isn’t about the safety of Americans at all… but that’s just my own opinion.
What Donald Trump is doing has been attempted before… just not here.
This is the definition of a ‘self-coup’ from Dictionary.com:
Self-Coup: a coup d'état performed by the current, legitimate government or a duly elected head of state to retain or extend control* over government, through an additional term, an extension of term, an expansion of executive power*, the dismantling of other government branches*, or the declaration that an election won by an opponent is illegitimate*.
I put the stars next to the things that (in my opinion) have happened, or are happening right now.
“I've studied authoritarianism for a very long time - for 40 years - and they're started by people's attempts to control the ideological and linguistic territory.” - Jordan Peterson
I find myself confused about what MAGA voters really wanted; the prices aren’t going down any time soon, so it couldn’t have been the economy after all… they wanted real movement on immigration, but did they want the cruelty too? Or worse, are they remaining quiet about what they see? Even after all this (the whole last decade, really), I want to believe no American, not even the most ardent MAGA voters, support the idea of migrant children having no lawyer in immigration court.
David Brooks, a moderate conservative and political commentator, made the material point that working-class MAGA voters, so far, haven’t seemed to realize; “These are not populists. These are elitists. These are conservative micro elites who've been in elite universities who play in the elite circles and they want to take it out on their fellow elites. And that's what this administration has become about, a battle between elites, not somebody representing the working class for problems that are real.”
Like many liberals, progressives, foreigners, and even some conservatives, I have been accused many times of having Trump Derangement Syndrome… and yet, just two months into his term, Donald Trump appears intent on proving we were right about him.
MAGA voters are the only thing left that might stop him; we thought the markets might, but not so far. We thought the Justice Department, perhaps, but Trump is openly accusing the same judge who ordered the release of Hillary Clinton’s emails of being a ‘radical left lunatic’, so I’m not confident… but perhaps the prospect of his supporters turning against him en masse could finally be the thing that stops this descent. Unfortunately, it seems that won’t happen until they feel the pain of his moves directly.