The New York Times editorial board is out with a new series tracking 12 categories of democratic erosion in the United States, highlighting the “worrisome steps” it says President Trump has taken toward undermining American democracy. Measuring on a scale from zero to 10 — with zero representing a strong, though imperfect, democracy and 10 representing a true autocracy — the board has moved one category, “manipulating the law to stay in power,” up to Level 3. The Morning Joe panel breaks down the ominous warnings from the piece as the country heads toward the November midterms and the 2028 election.
Candidates should be talking much more about not just the rule of law on principle, but the prosecution of people in practice.” On this week’s episode of The Best People, Professor and autocracy scholar Tim Snyder tells Nicolle that Democrats must promise accountability for the Trump allies and officials who have committed misdeeds. Click the related link to watch the full episode.
Tim Snyder sees Trump’s dictatorial tendencies clearly. In a moment like this, he says, “to be radical is to be pragmatic.” Snyder sees through the myth of President Trump’s strength. “He’s not actually strong,” the “On Tyranny” author and historian tells Nicolle, likening the Commander in Chief to the smoke and mirrors that build up the image of the Wizard of Oz. “He’s not actually even that good at being corrupt.” As a scholar of autocracies and failed experiments in democracy, Snyder expresses his disappointment with the American disposition that freedom is guaranteed “because it’s America,” telling Nicolle that we make ourselves more vulnerable by assuming that this democracy will continue to thrive on its…
Evidence of President Trump’s autocratic ambitions is mounting. MS NOW’s Ari Melber examines allegations of corruption involving Trump and is joined by acclaimed novelist Gary Shteyngart and Josh Marshall, founder and editor-in-chief of Talking Points Memo. (The Beat's YouTube: https://ms.now/ari)
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia is seeking re-election as his country weighs questions of war and peace, of autocracy and democracy, and of subjugation and independence.
Three major new studies on democracy and freedom all find the U.S. is slipping further away from democracy. Leaders of two of those studies say President Trump's goal is to rule as an autocrat.
Is America still a democracy? Scholars tell NPR that after the last year under President Trump, the country has slid closer to autocracy or may already be there.
