American Democracy Still Has a Lot Going for It

The article highlights how Donald Trump's authoritarian tendencies threaten U.S. democracy by undermining checks and balances through actions like purging disloyal civil servants, ignoring court rulings, and investigating political rivals. Despite these challenges, the United States' unique features, including its advocate groups, independent judiciary, federalism, and speech protections, offer resilience against such threats. Additionally, mechanisms like media independence and strong defamation laws help counteract potential autocratic tendencies.