Trump’s back – Thoughts from our supporters
Lee Manders is an Intern at Unlock Democracy
Donald Trump has only been back in the White House for seven weeks, but he has already dealt a succession of severe blows to US democracy.
So far, Trump has ignored Congress, the law, the courts and even the constitution in order to push his agenda.
He has attacked individuals and institutions that can challenge him, and fired officials who investigate corruption and protect whistleblowers.
And what is Trump’s justification for these undemocratic actions?
“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”
This is the behaviour of an authoritarian king, not a president who respects democracy.
We asked supporters for their thoughts on the Trump presidency’s first month. We received over 8,000 responses - our most popular survey so far!
87.5% of our supporters said that democracy is threatened by President Trump.
These concerns were primarily due to Trump’s disregard for US law and democratic institutions -
“The rule of law which in a democracy we all need to obey seems to be entirely disregarded by Trump.”
“He's running roughshod over democracy.”
“He is making sure his actions cannot be challenged. He is a dictator and has made some comments which could lead to horrendous actions.”
Concerns were also raised over Trump’s actions regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, such as entering peace talks with Russia without Ukraine’s involvement -
“He has completely turned against Europe and is actually supporting Russia.”
“His backing of the aggressor in Ukraine war—Russia.”
Our supporters also told us that they think Trump’s behaviour will threaten democracy worldwide, with 74.8% regarding this scenario as ‘very likely’.
Many of our supporters believe that Trump’s attacks on democratic institutions will embolden dictators and the far-right worldwide -
“His actions embolden other would-be dictators.”
“It legitimizes similar far-right regimes and parties to do likewise”.
“It will encourage authoritarianism and fascism globally.”
Others are concerned that Trump will directly undermine other democracies. This is following comments made by Trump such as wanting to purchase Greenland and make Canada a US state -
“His attitude towards wanting to make Canada the USA's 51st state & also wanting to take Greenland over.”
“He is using his power to bring the world to its knees. He wants to dominate the world.”
Our supporters were more divided on the idea of a UK Prime Minister following a similar path to Trump. 53.8% thought this was likely while 36.6% viewed it as unlikely.
Supporters gave various reasons for believing an authoritarian Prime Minister in the UK is possible -
“Boris Johnson prorogued parliament and nobody resisted.”
“If the Reform party were to win an election.”
“There is no written constitution.”
“Because we have First Past The Post which is capable of electing an extremist based on populist views that appeal to only a large minority.”
Other supporters have faith that the UK’s democratic system can withstand authoritarian figures trying to undermine democracy -
“The checks and balances that the UK political system has in place.”
“I still believe we have sufficient checks and balances, independent judiciary and press to avoid this scenario.”
The government must take action now to help build a more resilient democracy in the UK.
The upcoming elections bill is a great opportunity to take concrete steps towards making our democracy more robust.
Unlock Democracy would like to see bold changes, such as restoring the independence of the Electoral Commission, and restricting the size of political donations to £5000 annually per donor.
Trump has revealed his playbook, let’s not play his game.