Most people who have been keeping up with American politics over the past few years are familiar with Donald Trump’s creative language for his opposition. He titled Joe Biden “Sleepy Joe”, Kamala Harris “Lying” or “Crazy Kamala”, and Hillary Clinton “Crooked Clinton”. To most, these seem like poor taste, immature jabs at the opponent. To those who look a little deeper, this might seem like a clever campaign strategy, creating a caricature of the enemy – branding your rivals with recognizable nicknames for voters to hold on to. However, Trump’s comments are actually far more frightening than they may seem. His attacks on his opponents are clear markers of a democracy in decline. 

Democratic erosion can be defined as the slow process of elected officials undermining democracy over time. Democracy itself exists under many definitions, but it is known that in order for it to thrive, there must be a civic culture to sustain democratic norms. Donald Trump’s presidency is, and has been, deeply polarizing. It has created massive rifts in American society, deepening harsh party divides and fueling animosity and hatred for those who have opposing beliefs or values. At best, Trump’s presidency has disrupted civic culture and shaken democratic norms. At worst, we are seeing the breakdown and eradication of elements essential to democracy, as Trump, his administration, and his supporters establish new norms that reflect an authoritarian society.

In chapter one of How Democracies Die, authors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt identify an authoritarian threat as someone who tolerates violence/refuses to condemn political violence, rejects democratic rules/is willing to violate the constitution, threatens critics and/or the media, and denies the legitimacy of their opponents. Arguments could be made for how Donald Trump is exemplifying each of these traits; however, I would like to focus on the endmost marker of an authoritarian threat – denying the legitimacy of one’s opponents. 

In chapters five and six of How Democracies Die, Levitsky and Ziblatt go on to define mutual toleration as the understanding that competing political parties – that operate under constitutional rules – accept one another as legitimate rivals that have equal rights to exist and govern. Mutual toleration is crucial to democracy; without fair and equal competition, there simply is no democracy. The very nature of democracy hinges on the notion that political elites compete against each other in free and fair elections, where they are then selected by the people to represent the people’s voice. The rejection of mutual toleration is inherently nondemocratic. 

Donald Trump rejects mutual toleration. He has made it abundantly clear that he does not see his competitors as legitimate rivals that have equal rights to exist and govern. Yes, the nickname “Sleepy Joe” is likely the result of campaign strategies and pure animosity towards the opposition, but it is also a way to say that Biden is unfit to run the country. It is a way to reject him as a legitimate opponent. Of course, this issue runs far deeper than just name-calling, as on January 6th, 2021, the capital of the United States was stormed in outrage over the result of the election, after it had repeatedly been called “rigged” and “fraudulent”. These accusations are not to be made lightly. If true, they represent a massive threat to democracy, shaking democracies’ very foundations of free and fair elections. If false, however, they still represent a massive threat to democracy, revealing a leader unwilling to relinquish control and willing to delegitimize the democratic process.

The animosity and pure hatred that political elites in the United States have been expressing toward opposition in the last several years is not something to be brushed off. It represents the true decline of democracy in the U.S. Competition is what allows democracy to thrive. It promotes innovation and the constant push for the betterment of political elites. Opposition is inherently democratic, and to disregard it is to ultimately disregard democracy. 

Work Cited

Levitsky, Steven, and Daniel Ziblatt. How Democracies Die. Crown, 2018.