… In Trump’s final days in the White House, it was often difficult to tell where puffery ended and the putsch began, but the religious framing of the effort to keep him in office was always clear. The question of who would occupy the White House after Jan. 20 had […] Read more »
After the ballots are counted: Conspiracies, political violence, and American exceptionalism
Americans have experienced one of the most turbulent postelection periods in recent memory. The 2020 presidential election was marked by record turnout amid new voting procedures in many parts of the country, a response to the coronavirus outbreak. In all, more than 155 million voters cast a ballot in the […] Read more »
How Long Can Democracy Survive QAnon and Its Allies?
Has a bloc of voters emerged that is not only alien to the American system of governance but toxic to it? “The central weakness of our political system now is the Republican Party,” Daniel Ziblatt, a political scientist at Harvard, said in an interview with Vox on Jan. 13, a […] Read more »
The need to convict
… The central question in this impeachment is not whether Trump will receive his just punishment, or Biden will be given a clear playing field. Rather it is whether the Senate will prioritize the future of democracy over the partisan interests of the moment. Whether senators will rebuild and reinforce […] Read more »
Republicans’ Biggest Problem is That They Need Trump Supporters’ and Extremists’ Votes
The divisions within the Republican Party have been on clear display in the wake of the tumultuous end to Donald Trump’s presidency, which included a violent insurrectionist takeover of the U.S. Capitol on January 6. In the aftermath, will the party remain loyal to Trump and embrace its more extremist […] Read more »
Majority favor conviction as impeachment trial begins, but many Republicans urge loyalty to Trump
As former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial begins, a 56%-majority of Americans would like the Senate to vote to convict him, and the same percentage say he encouraged violence at the Capitol — views that are still somewhat linked to Americans’ presidential votes in 2020, reflecting ongoing partisan division. […] Read more »