The Impact of Donald Trump’s Presidency on American Democracy
Word Count: 1057
Lani Sa Pol S 202
In the current political climate, many Americans face a feeling of peril for what our
country has experienced and will continue to undergo if change does not come. Especially for the
minority population of the United States, democracy is considered to be a fundamental right that
is a basis for many citizens' essential right to freedom. For the recent events following President
Donald Trump's bitter race to his second term of office, his monumental loss proved to divide the
country even further and resulted in the atrocious acts from his supporters at the Capitol building.
The deadly riot that occurred at the Capitol revealed the mistakes that were made for the past
four years of President Donald Trump's term and how they had a grim impact on democracy as a
whole.
American democracy is defined as a form of government that is chosen by the people.
Americans generally believe that democracy is crucial for the well-being of America. When
Donald Trump lost the electoral college to Joe Biden, Trump claimed that the win was due to
election fraud. Since democracy is based around free and fair elections, many of his supporters
took his claims seriously. However, there have been 99 lawsuits filed regarding the claims of
election fraud, and none of the claims have been proved so far (ballot pedia, 2020). The
unsubstantial claims of a fraudulent election and illegal ballots have a detrimental impact on
democracy because it sends the wrong message to voters across the country. Since Trump has a
large base of supporters, they are likely to follow his word, regardless of the facts surrounding
the claims. As a result, a pro-Trump mob invaded a democratic institution in an attempt to
reverse the results of a free and fair election questioning the ideals of democracy.
On January 6th, the Capitol building was stormed by angry Trump supporters. Due to the
claims of an unfair election made by Trump over platforms such as Twitter and Instagram,
supporters came to believe that the election was stolen by the democratic party. According to a
study done by the Pew Research Center, 61% of republicans relied on the Trump campaign as a
primary news source, and 71% of Republicans believed that voter fraud was present during the
2020 election (Pew Research, 2020). This is a widespread issue because the Trump campaign is
heavily biased, resulting in the spreading of misinformation. This particular problem influenced
the pro-Trump mob to continue with the deadly riot at the Capitol building with allegations of a
stolen election. Since democracy is based on the ideas of a fair and free election, Trump's claims
of voter fraud are dangerous to the election process and challenge traditional American ideals for
what democracy means.
The election process has been a recurring event in the United States for 244 years, where
a presidential candidate is chosen to run the country every four years. When president Joe Biden
and Vice president Kamala Harris won the popular vote and the electoral college, the people
have spoken and elected the next president for the term. However, Donald Trump's reckless
words of cheating, our right to democracy, and a free and fair election are being threatened. The
president of the United States is a beacon for trust, and a person standing in such a powerful
position should be careful not to divide the country further. Previous Presidents have also spoken
out about the recent events. In a 2020 DNC speech, former president Barrack Obama called for a
change to protect our democracy. "Our president should be a custodian of this Democracy."
(Obama, 2020). Obama also explained that Trump is capitalizing on people's fears to endorse his
campaign. Another study done by the Pew Research center revealed that there was a significant
increase in political polarization in the last two years. However, individuals in both right and
left-leaning groups came to the same conclusion. Democracy is vital in order to maintain
freedom, which many Americans prioritize.
The riot that targeted Congress further proved that our democracy needs to be protected.
Due to the deadly unpatriotic event that unfolded at the Capitol, "A peaceful transfer of power
according to the outcome of a free and fair election was at risk" (Olsen, 2021). Trump's
consistent claims of voter fraud following the election results were often said without the proper
facts. For example, when asked about the election results in the Oval Office, Trump says, "Well,
I condemn any election fraud, and when I look at what's happened in California with the votes
when I look at what happened — as you know there was just a case where they found a million
fraudulent votes," (Trump, 2020). However, there is no evidence that California found fraudulent
votes, let alone millions. This type of rhetoric is especially dangerous. A recent study done by
NPR revealed that the consistent claims of an unfair election have a significant impact on
individuals, especially the republican party, and their views of the election (Parks, 2020). When
the president of the United States utilizes fear and voter suppression to increase supporters, this
has a negative impact on our already fragile democracy.
While the tyrannical reign of Trump's efforts to remain in office has failed, it has
impacted our democracy significantly. Ranging from the coronavirus deaths to the deaths of
many citizens due to a presidency that pushed radical ideas, the losses during his presidency
were significant. The influence of Donald Trump's presidency will be infamously remembered
for years to come. With a stable president that has finally taken over the office, expectations are
high from both parties, and the hope that democracy will be strengthened and restored is
anticipated.
Works Cited
Ballotpedia, Lawsuits, and recounts involving the presidential election,
https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_2020_Election_Help_Desk:_Tracking_election_dispute
s,_lawsuits,_and_recounts, January 2021
Pew Research Center, Republicans rely on Trump's campaign,
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/11/republicans-who-relied-on-trump-for-newsmore-concerned-than-other-republicans-about-election-fraud/, January 2021
Pew Research Center, Importance of Democracy,
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2018/04/26/the-public-the-political-system-and-americandemocracy/, September 2019
Henry Olsen, The Capitol Riot shows how fragile our Democracy is,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/07/capitol-riot-invoke-25th-amendment-risk
January 2021
Pam Fessler, NPR, Voter Fraud claims hurt democracy,
https://www.npr.org/2019/03/10/701547133/exaggerating-voting-issues-may-juice-a-base-but-italso-undermines-our-democracy, December 2020