Trump hints at a fourth term, fueling authoritarian fears
Trump has hinted at running for a fourth term, claiming the electoral system is in bad shape. With no real opposition, the road to autocracy is accelerating.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Trump points to a fourth term and opens the authoritarian floodgates
The statement carries the cynicism of someone who already knows the legal system will let him get away with it: former US president Donald Trump has hinted that he will run for a fourth term, arguing that the electoral system is in "bad shape" and needs to be "reinforced". In any healthy democracy, such a remark would be a mere boutade. In today's America, it sounds more like a master plan.
This is no offhand comment. Trump, who at 80 is already approaching the record for political longevity, has been stirring the board for months. The debate recalls that he already flirted with a coup by sending a mob to the Capitol. Now, with no real opposition within the Republican Party and a Democratic Party that some analysts consider infiltrated and disoriented, the temptation to cling to power seems closer than ever.
Age, instead of being a brake, becomes a dark argument: if he is planning a fourth term, why not a fifth or a sixth? The two-term tradition, which FDR already broke decades ago, could become a dead letter. And if the civil war some predict —"Trumpists versus proge"— were to break out, the outcome would be an even stronger and more dictatorial Executive, according to the most pessimistic reading.
How far will the United States' authoritarian drift go? The question hangs over any analysis. For now, Trump has made it clear that he is the one writing the rules.
The statement carries the cynicism of someone who already knows the legal system will let him get away with it: former US president Donald Trump has hinted that he will run for a fourth term, arguing that the electoral system is in "bad shape" and needs to be "reinforced". In any healthy democracy, such a remark would be a mere boutade. In today's America, it sounds more like a master plan.
This is no offhand comment. Trump, who at 80 is already approaching the record for political longevity, has been stirring the board for months. The debate recalls that he already flirted with a coup by sending a mob to the Capitol. Now, with no real opposition within the Republican Party and a Democratic Party that some analysts consider infiltrated and disoriented, the temptation to cling to power seems closer than ever.
Age, instead of being a brake, becomes a dark argument: if he is planning a fourth term, why not a fifth or a sixth? The two-term tradition, which FDR already broke decades ago, could become a dead letter. And if the civil war some predict —"Trumpists versus proge"— were to break out, the outcome would be an even stronger and more dictatorial Executive, according to the most pessimistic reading.
How far will the United States' authoritarian drift go? The question hangs over any analysis. For now, Trump has made it clear that he is the one writing the rules.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (9 replies).
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