American Democracy Struggles for Recuperation

Joseph R Biden is all set to take over the reins of the United States (US) at a time when the country’s claim to be the flag-bearer of democracy in the world is severely bruised. People of his country were already in the midst of one of the worst health emergencies as well as economic strains in modern times, when the transition of power crisis cropped up in the wake of the presidential election. As per widespread apprehensions, President Donald J Trump refused to concede his defeat and launched a powerful campaign against the legitimacy of the electoral outcome. His narrative of “stolen election” took the rage against the “establishment” of his already distrustful millions of supporters to a new height. It culminated in their audacious bid to seize Capitol Hill on 6 January 2021 when the Congress was in the process of authenticating the electoral victory of Biden. The ease with which Trump’s supporters could enter the Capitol building exposed not only the double standards of the police establishment when dealing with protests of different kinds—it was rightly compared with the role of the police during the Black Lives Matter movement—but also showed the inroads that the far-right, White supremacist ideology, symbolised by Trump, has made even in the US administrative system.

Since this stunning incident, large parts of ruling elites of the US have openly come out against Trump. The Democratic Party seems to be out to set a “precedent” by punishing him for his failed “coup” bid. Trump has been shunned even by the Republican Party establishment that was all along with him when he was flagrantly dishonouring democratic norms and setting his narratives based on ‘‘alternative truths.’’ But there is hardly any indication that any of them is inclined to face the hard truths brought to the fore by anti-democratic turns of events led by Trump and his supporters. The real issue to ponder over should be: Is Trump a problem as a person or is he a result of more deep-rooted problems? If Biden and his Democratic Party ignore this unpleasant question, they would be doing great harm to their country. Actually, they should be more worried about more than 74 million of their co-citizens who, in the last election, endorsed Trump’s way of politics. This half of the US is not going to wither away either by impeaching Trump or taking legal actions against participants in the 6 January “insurrection.”