A core rhetoric of the Democrats’ election campaign was the perceived threat to democracy that President-elect posed. “Democrat is on the ballot” became a rallying cry.
Of course, this came from a side which launched a coup against the incumbent president, and pushed a presidential nominee who failed to win a single primary. It will always be debated, but once could convincingly argue that the Democrats’ opponent was the victim of political persecution – something which, undeniably, is a threat to democracy in itself.
Kamala Harris compared Trump to Adolf Hitler in the dying weeks of the campaign as she tried to lay down the idea that the President-elect was an authoritarian fascist. You only need the election result to know that the tactic ultimately didn’t work.
This anti-democratic rhetoric was picked up by the more leftist elements of the mainstream media. “It’s not alarmist: A second Trump term really is an extinction-level threat to democracy”, was the headline of a Vox article published three days before the election. That, itself, wasn’t a standalone claim, with the New York Magazine repeating the Democrat argument in September. Even now the dust has settled, corporations such as the Washington Post continue to regurgitate the perceived threat to democracy.
The issue was the top concern among exit poll respondents on election night. Yet, quite hilariously, among those who saw this as a top concern voted for Trump.
Trump led by 4 points among those who felt that democracy in the U.S. is “very threatened,” while those who thought it was “somewhat threatened” voted Trump by a 1 point margin. Though to be fair, most Trump supporters see democracy as very secure, with Trump leading that demo by 9 points.
There are several reasons why it may have been Trump voters who were the most concerned. Whether it be the political persecution of their chosen candidate…
… or skipping democratic processes.
In all likelihood, it was a combination of several factors as to why people felt the Vice President posed the biggest threat to democracy.
