Trump Presidency May Have 'Permanently Damaged' Democracy, Says EU Chief

[DonViejo]

Source: Forbes


BREAKING|Jan 26, 2021,10:08am EST|

Siladitya RayForbes Staff
Business
Covering breaking news and tech policy stories at Forbes.

TOPLINE World leaders are worried that Donald Trump’s time in the White House may have permanently damaged democracy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during her speech at the Davos Agenda summit on Tuesday, highlighting the wariness among global leaders about the long term effects the former president’s agenda.

KEY FACTS

Von der Leyen started her speech at the summit stating that her bilateral concerns with the U.S. last year were focussed on tariffs, but a year later “we are worrying about whether democracy itself might have been permanently damaged in the last four years.”

Pointing to the “darker sides” of digital platforms, the EU chief talked about defending institutions against “the corrosive power of hate speech, disinformation, fake news and incitement to violence.”

Pointing to new EU proposals that would require social platforms like Facebook and Twitter to police their platform better and unveil their algorithms, von der Leyen called on the new U.S. administration to work with Europe on regulatory issues.

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/01/26/trump-presidency-may-have-permanently-damaged-democracy-says-eu-chief/

[LittleGirl]

1. I refuse to believe that!

We voted him out as soon as we could.
We proved that decency wins. Empathy wins.
Common sense wins. Revolt wins.

It was the right thing to do.
If he had been re-elected, America would have died and probably democracy.
But we fought back. We won.
We beat him.

[cstanleytech]

4. The problem isnt that we voted him out its that he was voted in and supported by so many in

the House and Senate which were supposed to be the check to prevent a Presidents abuse.
Then to top it off when he loses many of them still support him and even try to ram him through as President not to mention he still had nearly as many people vote for him again.

[HUAJIAO]

7. We won a battle. There is still a war, and a threat.

[Lonestarblue]

11. We voted Trump out, but not the party that enabled him.

Republicans actually won more seats in 2020, which means that some Republicans votes for Biden over Trump but still supported their party. If in 2024, a smarter Republican who is actually worse than Trump but hides it better runs for president, Republicans will likely vote for that person. EU leaders do not trust the US system now because of the possibility that another Trump could be elected in 2024. As a result, they no longer trust the United States.

And, because the partisan divide means that presidents have to do much more with executive orders, the stability of international agreements is undermined. Because Obama couldn’t get Congressional approval of the Paris Climate Agreement or the Iran Agreement with McConnell obstructing everything possible, Trump was able to pull out of those agreements easily. Biden is now using Executive orders to undo Trump’s executive orders. This is necessary now, bit it is no way to govern or to instill faith in our allies that they can trust the US. They can’t because the next president can just undo what the current one did because someone like McConnell prevents us from having a functional Senate.

After the Georgia election, a conservative acquaintance commented that it was too bad both Democrats had won because we need a divided Senate to keep the most liberal Democratic policies from being enacted. A divided government no longer works at all. It just prevents any progress for four years. I hope Manchin and Sinema can be talked into ending the filibuster. I know it’s asking a lot, but they need to place the good of the country over their own ambition to be re-elected. If McConnell is able to prevent Democratic successes, they might not be re-elected anyway.

[COL Mustard]

14. I'm With You.

I think our civil society has been damaged, and it will take us some time to repair, but I don't agree with Frau VDL that we have been permanently damaged. The healing and restoration have already begun. The accountability will take some time.

[Escurumbele]

17. I refuse to believe that as well, if anything this is a wake-up call

I strongly believe that, not if, but when Biden/Harris restore what the monster tried to destroy and people begin to see it, plus trump and his elk are put in jail, that all this will become a bad memory and nothing else. We do have to get rid of people like Cruz, Hawley, Jordan, etc.

[KPN]

22. I get what you are saying. But I would prefer to state it another way. I refuse to believe that!

We just showed that decency and loyalty to belief in democracy can win. While we've won this battle, we need to stay vigilant and committed to not letting our guard down, not letting up on the pedal, fighting for free and fair elections every day between now and the 2022 election, and then again until the 2024 election, and then again -- as long as it takes to win this war. That's what it is -- a war, whether we want it or not. We can never rest until we've vanquished those who wish to take democracy away from us.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. No, greed has always caused alienation, and hatred is a tool to feed greed

Last edited Tue Jan 26, 2021, 01:59 PM - Edit history (1)

So these problems are more fundamental than Trump or paranoia or social platforms

And while our modern institutions are stronger than say Germany 1930s, and modern telecommunications helped enable Trump, they can also be used to inform people and reject him. We must use the tools of our era, that is one of our moral historical elements.

[Initech]

3. It takes 300 years to build an empire, one jackass with a wrecking ball to knock it all down.

[cstanleytech]

5. Was more than one though as he had plenty of others willing to aid him in the House and Senate.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

29. "One thousand 'attaboys' are wiped out by one 'oh shit.'"

I heard that in the military. I guess it applies to democracy as well.

[BobTheSubgenius]

6. I have absolutely NO wish to appear alarmist or melodramatic, but...

...I don't see how the last 4 years haven't left a deep scar on democracy everywhere. Imagine what it must be like to live in a place where democracy is still fragile and by no means a shoo-in to survive past their next election cycle.

When they see what happened in what is supposed to be the paragon of "government by the people," what are they to think?

[TryLogic]

18. People can learn a lot from observing.

Also, I sometimes wonder if the newer democracies have made improvements over our structure(s). Perhaps we should be learning from them rather than beating our chests about how great we are.

One easy example: We have massive and growing economic inequities. That does not sound like something to be proud of.

We elected an individual to the top position in the US government who could never have passed a high level security screening. That makes us look like fools. Well, actually, that makes us fools.

We gave massive media exposure to an abject con man.

We permitted an individual with mob boss skills to exercise those skills and get away with it because one political party displayed the integrity of a ... mob!

Side note: The Republican party has three primary characteristics: greed, racism, and religious fundamentalism all of which call for authoritarian rule. I believe we need a third party. It might help ease some of the game playing we get with two parties, at least for awhile.

[Biophilic]

8. Hopefully this will make people everywhere realize

that democracy isn't easy. That it needs to be taken seriously and guarded well. That everyone, or as many as possible, have to be onboard to assure it's success. That voting really does matter and that citizens need to be educated and aware of what is happening in their country. Many of us never thought a moment about the possibility of losing it until trump and his followers and even then not until January 6th. We, and everyone else, needed that wake up call. No one, no country, is immune from fascists and dictators.

[Bar5tons]

9. democracy

I agree that our allies can't depend on the US, every four years in this country, the world can be turned upside down. I agree that democracy is fragile. We can't let republicans ever gain control of the wh or either house of congress. In the beginning, millions of Germans loved hitler, just like in this country, millions love trump.

[Dustlawyer]

10. Our Democracy will remain in peril unless we address media propaganda and

Campaign Finance Reform. The political landscape has been building to this point since Reagan and Gingrich. A large percentage of Americans have been programmed to be angry and afraid for over 30 years. They are a cult and still being programmed.

Our politicians are judged by how much money (legal bribes) they raise that they must pay back with policies and no bid contracts. We have a shadow government of big donors who control the politicians with donations and the media with ad dollars.

I believe we will fail if we do not adequately address these two root causes of most of our problems!

[Nitram]

12. That's a very pessimistic prognosis. Certainly it will take time to repair the damage, and it is

possible that America has permanently been torn into two disparate populations that will never again be able to agree or compromise. I'm hoping he's wrong.

[Ford_Prefect]

13. And then there's the planet-wide Plutocracy...promoting and enabling Racism, Nativism, and the

Propaganda machine which feeds them. Isn't that so Mr. Murdoch? Wouldn't you agree Mr. Ripley? Having fun sowing chaos Mr. Putin?

For those confused: Chris Ripley is CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group:

The company is the second-largest television station operator in the United States by number of stations (after Nexstar Media Group), owning or operating a total of 193 stations across the country in over 100 markets (covering 40% of American households), many of which are located in the South and Midwest, and is the largest owner of stations affiliated with Fox, ABC, and The CW.

******************

A 2019 study in the American Political Science Review found that "stations bought by Sinclair reduce coverage of local politics, increase national coverage and move the ideological tone of coverage in a conservative direction relative to other stations operating in the same market.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Broadcast_Group

[roamer65]

15. Maybe we never really had it in the first place, and we are seeing what is "behind the curtain"?

Paraphrasing Frank Zappa.

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/12280-the-illusion-of-freedom-will-continue-as-long-as-it-s

[Snackshack]

16. There is no "may have" about it.

The damage done is permanent. The only way we might be able to at least partly undo what has been done is if there are consequences for all who sought to undermine Democracy with lies and disinformation. What DT and the GOP did was no different then what intelligence agencies have done for decades in places where they wanted to undermine the current government and unless people see that the people who did this pay a price in jail sentences / fines / loss of licenses etc. it is only a matter of time before another group does the same thing only they will not be as incompetent as the last group.

We got lucky this time, DT & Co almost pulled this off. It was not our strength of institutions that saved the day. There are plenty of places where had just one more person said "ok, i'll do that" as many did from reps to senators to secretaries and many state officials things might be very different right now. Our system relies way too much on the "better angels" of nature. There are a lot of changes that need to be made and there are many people that need to be held accountable. If this does not happen Democracy is on thin ice.

[RainCaster]

19. Exactly what Putin wanted!

Donny will get a bonus for his annual review because of this.

[iscooterliberally]

20. Permanently damaged? I agree that great weaknesses were exposed, but I think this can be repaired.

Democracy could even be strengthened by what happened. Social media in general needs to be brought into line with the truth. We regulated radio and TV when they came out. We can do the same with social media. It's pretty obvious seeing all the damage social media companies have done across the world in the last 10 years by their spread of lies and propaganda just so they can keep more eyes on their posts. It's apparent that these companies are not capable of policing themselves. Also greed needs to be brought under heel in this country. In order for democracy to work, people need the truth rather than a comforting lie. Every day we wake up to a fire hose in the face of misinformation. It can be hard for one to see the difference between actual news and someone opining about the news as though it were fact.

[Roc2020]

21. at least Half of the GOP is now pro Atocracy

so of course Democracy is damaged in America and in the world. Only question is can the damage be repaired. I'm cautiously optimistic.

[Quemado]

24. The problem is the Electoral College, the Senate, and low population red states.

Until the EC and Senate are eliminated, democracy will be under attack by voters in low population red states. Voters who have been permanently brainwashed.

Even if Trump is somehow eliminated from the 2024 Presidential election, there are other right wing demagogues ready and willing to take his place. And, they're probably smarter than Trump.

[Turin_C3PO]

27. Senate won't be eliminated.

EC probably not either but there's a better chance of getting rid of that than the Senate.

[Turin_C3PO]

26. Damaged? Certainly. Permanently? No.

[olddad65]

28. That was Putin's goal when he installed him in 2016