Is America’s democracy on the decline?

With the United States presidential election just more than a month away, the world is watching with an unusual frenzy and animated indignation the campaign between the incumbent, President Donald Trump of the Republican Party and his challenger, former Vice President, Joe Biden of the Democratic Party.

The concern of the world and indeed, lovers of democracy on what is playing out in a country regarded as the bastion of democracy all boils down to the erratic and demagogic behavior of a leader, who was supposed to be the leader of the free world. Rather, the United States President in the past three and half years, has conducted himself in a manner that is starkly different from conventional norms and tradition. He has indeed constituted himself as the real danger to the more than two centuries democratic experiment.

For a President that told the world in his January 2017 inauguration speech that he was going to pursue an America first policies, most of his utterances and actions have been antithetical to democratic principles and values. Trump has eroded all the gains made under President Barack Obama that was supposed to ensure global peace and security, and even went as far as to take side with the Russian ruler, Vladimir Putin, who is widely seen as a threat to global democratic order.

Indeed, more worrisome has been Trump’s constant attack on democratic institutions; chastising those who disagree with him, incessantly describing the media as fake and using derogatory language that belittle his high office on political opponents. Almost all his appointees who have resigned from the White House have all come out to tell the world how incapable he is and the threat he poses to the country and the world if he is re-elected for second term.

Before the emergence of Trump, United States Presidents have always been referred to as leader of the free world, presupposing the evident truism that the American democracy has been a global brand that nations of the world aimed to emulate. Countries and more than casual observers of world politics for more two centuries have followed with keen interest the evolution of democracy in the United States and not a few have used it as a veritable template.

More importantly, is the enviable way and manner power transits from one party to the other without rancor or bitterness. The world always awaits the reaction of losers in major elections. And what has become the envy of the world has been the obligatory phone calls often put across to winners by losers.

However, with the emergence of Trump, this vital democratic tradition of free and fair electoral process and peaceful transfer of power is about to be truncated. Like never before, something that is unthinkable is brewing in God’s own country. Interestingly, the man who took an oath to be the symbol of democracy and chief occupant of the Oval office is actively championing the debasement of the very system that brought him to power. He is doing everything in his power to circumvent the democratic process!

Trump has actively sought to delegitimize the results of the November election, falsely claiming universal mail-in voting intended to protect people amid the coronavirus pandemic is ripe for corruption although there is no evidence this is true. According to the Washington Post, in the five states that already allowed universal mail-in voting, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington, there have been no issues with widespread fraud.

“The only way we’re going to lose is if there’s mischief, and it’ll have to be on a big scale, so be careful,” Trump said. “We do want a very friendly transition, but we don’t want to be cheated and be stupid and say, ‘Oh, let’s, we’ll go and we’ll do a transition,’ and we know that there were thousands and thousands of ballots that made the difference through cheating. We’re not going to stand for it.”

This attack claiming Democrats are trying to cheat is also baseless when it is the President who has sought to limit resources to the U.S. Postal Service to curtail its ability to handle the influx of mailed ballots.

Trump has also said he expects the Supreme Court to decide the presidential election, meaning he intends to legally challenge the results if he loses. This is the normal template of a Banana Republic, which makes the Western countries and other democracies to be worried and concern. Because what moral ground do the Western world has to preach democratic tenets around the world when the world leading democracy cannot conduct basic elections.

For sure, it is doubtful if the founding fathers that gathered in Philadelphia in 1776 ever thought there would be a President that would stretch the system they put in place to the limit. Recovering from a victory of independence over the British and trying to find a system of government that would not put legislative and executive powers in the hands of one man, the delegates were quick to embrace the Lockenian philosophy that created an executive head but with adequate checks and balances. The three organs of government, executive, legislature and judiciary were thus created.

We have to also note that the leader of the war, General George Washington who contributed his resources to the prosecution of the war, had a larger than life image and was well respected. He was unanimously made to preside over proceedings at the convention. The decisions reached by the delegates which formed the bulk of the constitution were made with the implicit recognition of the character and patriotism of Washington.

The delegates were also not unaware that noble men; men of high integrity would be voted for to occupy the highest office in the land. For instance, the constitution did not stipulate any term limits for Presidents, knowing full well that Washington will be the first president. Washington ended up serving for just two terms and by so doing setting a precedence that successive presidents have followed till today.

There is however a lacuna in the system that the constitution did not adequately address, but the founding fathers were of the belief that the system would evolve to consummate a near perfect system, if there is enough vigilance by the people to checkmate the excessive use of power by office holders. Suffice to note the eternal advice given by the oldest delegate, Benjamin Franklin to a lady who wanted to know the outcome of their meeting: “A republic madam, I hope you can keep it”.

For sure, I don’t think the founding fathers ever thought in their wildest imagination that there would be a President that will be audacious enough to break all norms and tradition, while his party looks on sheepishly and helplessly. A president that is shameless; lacks basic decency; selfish and greedy; autocratic and dictatorial; hypocritical and corrupt and above all, poses a great danger to the very foundation of America’s democracy. He has since become a laughing stock among comity of nations.

Do we still wonder why notable figures in the country, both civilians and retired Military Generals, across party lines, have openly come out to oppose his re-election, saying the future and values of their country is at stake in this election? As we await the verdict of the United States electorate on November 8, one thing that is for sure is that the world will be a better place without Donald Trump.

Aruna is a journalist. He writes from Lagos