With the US 2024 elections coming to a close, tension and violence has been increasingly prevalent. This is nothing new with the Capitol Riot occurring subsequent to the 2020 election results. Trump's repeated rhetoric of a fraudulent election result encouraged his most loyal supporters to carry out violent rioting into the Capitol Building. Six people were killed as a result. It can be said that this heavily publicised act, displayed, beyond nationally, Trump’s core ideology and unified his supporters. The relationship between Trump and his political style has led academics to contest a growing “authoritarian threat” in the US.
The main concern is Trump’s ability to be on the ballot despite his criminal records. The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution “prohibits anyone who has engaged in ‘insurrection’ from holding future office.” (Roberts, William. 2024) The Supreme Court ruled that only Congress can enforce this Amendment, not the state thus making it ineligible to remove Trump from the ballot. If Trump wins this upcoming election, he has the ability, as President, to terminate the criminal cases against him. In addition, he has stated that his first act as president would be to pardon the convicts involved in the Riot, saying they were “wrongfully imprisoned” (Rin Kim, Soo; Ibssa, Lallee. 2024). In addition, under his presidency he would exercise ‘Project 2025,’ replacing tens of thousands of US bureaucracy civil servants with those loyal to him.
Trump’s idea essentially adopts a law under a unilateral system rather than going through official democratic procedures. The safeguards acting as checks and balances to the Executive will be violated and the separation of powers, an important element to democracy will not be sustained. This brings us to the question of who will win the election and what does it entail for democracy in the US?
References:
https://www.ibanet.org/The-authoritarian-threat-to-America
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_6_United_States_Capitol_attack
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-promises-free-jan-6-rioters-day-back/story?id=108050867
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