{"id":3884,"date":"2020-11-23T20:27:37","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T20:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=3884"},"modified":"2020-11-23T20:27:37","modified_gmt":"2020-11-23T20:27:37","slug":"what-trumps-refusal-to-concede-says-about-american-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=3884","title":{"rendered":"What Trump\u2019s Refusal To Concede Says About American Democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\n“the sitting president\u2019s refusal to acknowledge electoral defeat is worrisome, as it raises the prospect that he will not uphold a core tenet of democracy<\/a>: Elections determine who is in power, and those who lose surrender power peacefully. The behavior of top Republican Party officials \u2014 subtly acknowledging that Trump must leave office on Jan. 20 but not openly rebuking his conduct \u2014 in some ways also violates that core value. And the combination of Trump\u2019s and his party\u2019s behavior raises a serious question: Is America\u2019s democracy in trouble?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe. People who study democratic norms and values<\/a> both in the United States and abroad say that the behavior of Trump and the Republican Party over the past week deeply concerns them<\/a>. Dartmouth College political scientist Brendan Nyhan says it\u2019s important not to think of democracy in binary terms<\/a> \u2014 that either a nation is or is not a democracy. Instead, Nyhan argues, democracy falls more on a spectrum, and based on how Trump broke with democratic values as president<\/a> and how he is handling the end of his presidency, America does remain a democracy, but it is somewhat less democratic than it was pre-Trump.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Not only is Trump blocking his advisers from helping the incoming Biden administration<\/a> get ready to deal with the pandemic, but the defeated president has largely disengaged from the COVID-19 crisis<\/a> himself. In terms of managing the virus, America will be functionally without a president for two months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can\u2019t totally rule out the most alarming possibility either \u2014 that Trump is going to try to stay in office past Jan. 20. After all, he has mobilized some key parts of the federal government and the Republican Party behind his efforts to question and undermine the election results<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It\u2019s hard to know the answers to these questions. Democratic values are almost certain to be upheld this time \u2014 that is, the election determined who will be in charge, and the transfer of power will ultimately be peaceful. But it\u2019s not totally clear that these values will be upheld the next time a Trump-like figure emerges. American democracy is likely to survive Trump, but his tenure has raised important questions about the state of America\u2019s democracy and whether it will endure in perpetuity.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What Trump\u2019s Refusal To Concede Says About American Democracy<\/a><\/blockquote>