Despite the constant attempts by Donald Trump at undermining democracy within the United States, he is still the Republican Party’s nominee and has a strong chance of possibly even reclaiming the presidency in November.
From an African’s perspective, I find this trend to be very concerning. I, obviously, cannot vote in the US elections nor have I ever lived in America, but I still watch worryingly how Trump has managed to make such a comeback, after essentially being ostracised for his actions following his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden.
I find myself baffled by the fact that he has managed to undermine the credibility of America’s electoral process. He will possibly be awarded with the president for a second term in office.
Rather than Republicans pushing back against his false claims of electoral fraud, the party has begun to embrace his lies. Radical right wing members of the Republican Party have become emboldened to spew these lies in order to show their fealty towards Donald Trump.
I would even admit that I previously hadn’t given much thought to the sentiments that Trump was this “danger to democracy” that had been raised by some members of the American media. It was easy to dismiss those claims as the American media bias against Trump. However, watching the actions of Trump supporters on January 6th really brought to light these concerns that had been raised for years at that point.
We have seen this before around Africa
There is no doubt in my mind that if Donald Trump had been the president of a country with less resilient democratic institutions, he would have never stepped down from the presidency when he did. Because in Africa we see these kinds of leaders often, however, unlike in America they don’t step down after losing an election (if it ever even gets to that point).
These strongmen leaders have been pervasive in many African countries throughout the decades since many of our countries gained independence. These sorts of leaders are the reason why various African nations score so poorly on democratic indexes. They seek to undermine democratic institutions within their countries in order for them to hold onto power, typically for many decades.
Before any kind of election takes place, where their grip power may be a risk, they do their utmost to ensure that all the cards are stacked in their favour. Members of the media and civil society are demonised and prevented from performing their duties. Members of the opposition are threatened, harassed and in extreme cases jailed or killed.
These strongmen leaders undermine the legitimacy of elections, either by rigging the system in their favour or simply doing away with it altogether.
We see these sorts of leaders in many African countries. Many of these strongmen characteristics have been displayed by Donald Trump at one point or the other. If Trump were elected for a second, these sorts of characteristics will likely be even more apparent, as he is clearly enraged at the fact that he had been dethroned in the manner that he was.
Republicans have stuck with Trump’s lies
Perhaps the most disappointing thing about this entire situation is the lack of pushback by Republicans against Trump’s attacks on democracy. Rather than completely ostracising Trump for undermining democracy (and losing them multiple elections at this point), they had nominated him as their nominee again.
Rather than ditching him, the Trump brand of politics has become the mainstream of the party. With many Republican lawmakers repeating the lies that had been spread by Trump about the election, when they know that they aren’t true.
In that sense, we have seen the rise of far right members of congress, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, gaining prominence among republicans. Even the current speaker of the US house of representative has propagated the same lies about the election of Donald Trump.
Republicans underestimate Trump’s threat to democracy
There are, however, the Republicans who refuse to take part in the deceptions propagated by Donald Trump. They rightfully call out his false claims about electoral fraud, however, they still choose to support him regardless.
Among this cohort of republicans is Ben Shapiro and his Daily Wire crew. The message they always send out is that, yes, they acknowledge that Trump has lied and continues to tell lies about the election, however, they believe that America’s democratic institutions are strong enough to withstand the actions of Trump, who seeks to undermine them.
So they are comfortable knowing that Trump will likely attempt to implement anti-democratic policies if he were to return to office, yet they will still support him regardless.
The reality is that it’s easy to take advantage of the freedoms you have when you don’t realise what it’s like to have them taken away. The idea that one would be okay, knowing that their president will seek to undermine democracy, and still vote for them is a position I fail to understand. The idea that just because he is on my side isn’t so bad, fails to see the bigger picture.
American democracy is important for the world
American democracy is important not just because of the freedoms it affords its inhabitants, but because of its ability to promote democratic values all over the globe.
Similar to the desires for freedom, tolerance, and equity held by so many Americans, that same desire is felt by billions all over the world, however that freedom is not universally felt.
However, Americans have historically been willing to promote and support efforts made towards establishing democratic values all across the world, including in the African continent.
Therefore, any attempts made to undermine that democracy should be met with utmost seriousness. Attacks on Americans democratic institutions and values should not be tolerated, simply because you think the system is strong enough to withstand them. Because what if they can’t? What will the solution be then; once those freedoms once held so dearly are no longer available?