Throughout this hotly-contested run for president, divisive messages have been flying from both sides of the aisle. Both sides seek to create the perception that the republic is at risk and that they will save democracy.
In a recent interview with podcaster Lex Friedman, Trump was told how he does better by “talking about a positive vision of the future versus criticizing the other side.” In response, he went on a pessimistic tirade about the future.
“November 5th is the most important election this country’s ever had,” Trump says to Friedman, “because if we don’t win it, I don’t know that there’ll be another election and it’s going to be a communist country or close,”
Friedman countered his claims by saying that some people call him a fascist. Trump doubled down, saying, “These are evil people. We have an enemy from the outside and we have an enemy from within. And in my opinion, the enemy from within are radical left lunatics. And I think you have to fight back.”
Unfortunately, this type of dialogue is ever present on the Left, too. Kamala Harris compared the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots to that of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 and Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Tim Walz has implied that supporters of Trump are fascists who are going to “put people in danger.” Harris regularly uses the rhetoric that Trump is “dangerous,” “unstable,” and a “threat to democracy and fundamental freedoms.”
Yet Biden, despite repeatedly going on tirades about the dangers of Make America Great Again Republicans and talking about how Jan. 6 is similar to the invasion of Ukraine in the State of the Union address, he jokingly put on a Trump hat. If Trump were comparable to Putin, a dictator, why would Biden wear that hat? I question if Biden genuinely believes his rhetoric about Trump being a threat to democracy.
Even if none of the many statements by Democrats and their media assets weren’t meant to have inspired the two assassination attempts on Trump, words matter. The Democrats claim Trump said things before the inauguration of Biden, such as telling the proud boys to stand back and stand by and telling his followers to fight like hell, which could have led to the Jan. 6 fiasco. Yet, Biden did not get enough scorn from the corporate media for saying, “It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye” days before the first assassination attempt.
Trump’s statements are also very inflammatory and could trigger more chaos. However, Biden, Harris or Wallz have not had attempts on their lives while Trump has. If Democrats had faced political violence, then I would also blame Trump’s rhetoric.
I don’t believe that Trump or Harris are threats to democracy. Their rhetoric will eventually degrade our faith in democracy to the point that someone else far more dangerous could be a true threat. According to a poll by the Pew Research Center, 72% of Americans believe that democracy in the U.S. used to be a good example, another 8% of Americans say U.S. democracy has never been a good example for other countries to follow.
What happens when people stop seeing this democracy as sick but rather terminally ill and in need of euthanasia? Historically, democracies have often succumbed to brutal revolutions when people lose faith in them.
For many people, calling someone a fascist or a communist is a serious accusation, especially because many Americans are descendants of those who fled from fascist and communist countries. If this rhetoric is constantly repeated, people may believe it, and they may consider taking action through political violence. What if instead of a lone gunman shooting a politician, people feel it is necessary to fight a civil war to get rid of these perceived fascists and communists?
America may be the world’s oldest continuous democracy, and the president may be the “leader of the free world,” but Americans are not unique. If Americans think they are desperate enough, they may be willing to side with those who seek to destroy democracy to save it. The greatest threat to democracy is the divisive rhetoric that is slowly degrading it.
Ari Sorokin can be reached at [email protected].
