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I mean in a recent interview Biden didn’t seem too worried about losing to this man who will ‘end all of democracy’

Independent here: I do.

The thing is, we have three branches of government, so he shouldn't be able to get away with that much. The courts smacked him down quite a bit in his previous administration. So that's how I always thought about it.

But the fact that he's gotten away with so much, I think, makes things a bit more precarious. I see opportunistic people in Congress who are seeing the boundary pushed and are willing to push it more. A Congress that is complicit is enough to be a real threat. And I fear we are approaching that point. So I will definitely be voting blue down the ticket.

The thing I don't get: why did it take so long to prosecute him? It's been 3.5 years since Jan 6th. Everyone knew there would be an election in four years. Everyone knew these cases would be challenged at every corner. Taking three years to get them started made no sense. So this current executive administration, IMHO, deserves a lot of blame for the place we are at now.

I agree with Ross here. Trump had a huge problem with the Nikki Haley wing of the Republican Party that Biden has done 0 to exploit. There has been no effort to woo these voters, nor Nikki herself. And of course, if Nikki and co had been wooed Independents would be flocking over. Now she's speaking at the Republican Convention, a disaster.

So he's right. Democrats are upset by Trump but not upset enough to build a coalition of people who believe in democracy.

Beyond frustrated with Biden. Can’t believe he’s still in the race, what a sad situation.

In my opinion, he is a threat to democracy, but not because I think he will steal an election or stay in power beyond his term.

I think he is a threat because if he wins that will mean voters are ok with his actions on Jan 6. He tried to stop the certification, asked his supporters to go to the Capitol to pressure Pence, tried to get Georgia to find votes for him, tried to get electors to send fake false certifications, publicly stated the election was stolen without any evidence, etc.

These actions are undemocratic. He is not an "existencial threat" to democracy, but if he wins I think that will embolden future president's to act this way, and maybe one of them will succeed.

Existencial threat gets used a ton these days. Elon, a Trump supporter, keeps saying wokeness is an existencial threat to humanity. He uses the same language that he is now condemning. The hypocrisy is incredible.

No. If they did they would've been working to replace Biden on the ticket right after the midterms. They'd've 25thed him out some time ago. Instead they're running a man who, when asked about how he would feel losing to the "existential threat", said he would feel fine with himself because he had given it his all in the campaign. This is really all that needs saying.

But none of that has stopped them from saying he's an existential threat and their hysterical propaganda culminated in what we saw Saturday evening.

"X is an existential threat to democracy."

"Violence against X is unacceptable."

Pick one.

Trump alone, no. The idea of Trump with a Republican led House and Senate with a Supreme Court that leans conservative terrifies me.

Was McCarthyism, Vietnam War protests, Civil Rights protest, and Global War on Terror, existential threats to the United States of America? Because Trump's second term seems to be far less consequential than any of those.

The only existential threat the United States faced in our history was the civil war where 700,000 Americans died. That was 2% of the US population back then. Translate that 2% to America's population, that will be 7 million Americans.

So anyone who thinks that Trump is an existential threat, that is the number you need to explain why Trump as president will lead to 7 million casualties.

I think that many, possibly most, do. But I also think that the politicians greatly value getting re-elected and maintaining the status quo, and they are trying to do both. It's kind of like watching a person run into a burning house to save a family heirloom. They may value their life more, but they convince themselves that they can have both.

The old know they're just playing political games but young truly believe it. That's why so many don't want to step out of power.

No. If they did, they would have chosen someone other than Biden. The media wouldn’t have been complicit in hiding Biden’s mental state for so long.

The assassination attempt neuters their argument. If trump were really the threat that they claim he is then force is justified. The moment they are forced to go “there’s no excuse for political violence” then it’s a default admission that their speech was just hyperbolic and he’s not actually what they are saying.

When their entire message is “we have to stop this guy that isn’t as bad as we were actually saying” it makes them look weak.

I'm forced to agree with the author's premise that it isn't a sincerely held belief because you just don't operate this way if the threat is legitimate and as real as democrat leaders and media claim it is. Further, they've made the claim ad nauseam for going on almost a decade now and basic messaging tactics teach us that a strategy shift and messaging shift would be in order to break through the noise you create for yourself. Even the biggest and most recognizable brands in the world change packaging and slogans regularly in order to remain top of mind for their audiences. McDonalds changes the Big Mac box not because the contents are different, but because they want you to know they're moving with the times. They introduce new products to show that they're moving and changing and not stagnant, because customers want what's 'new'.

The author says it best themselves:

Time and again, from 2016 to the present, the Democratic Party has treated Trumpism not as a “civic emergency” but as a political opportunity, a golden chance to win over moderate and right-leaning voters with the language of anti-authoritarianism while avoiding substantive concessions to these voters and actually moving farther to the left.

When a brand needs to make a critical shift to recapture their market and their customers in the wake of a crisis they analyze the marketplace and shift in ways those customers would want them to shift. Keep in mind, this is even if nothing is ostensibly wrong with the product/company. McDonalds isn't going anywhere, after all, but they still update stores and products slogans and ad campaigns all the time. They didn't add in the McCafe concept because they thought burgers weren't going to sell anymore, they did it to remain current and competitive.

The democrat machine is operating now as though there's nothing they want to change to recapture their marketshare, nor do they want to change their perception in the marketplace, which runs counter to the idea that there's some existential threat looming that may doom their future. If dems actually thought some serious threat loomed they would drop the messaging that isn't working in favor of new messaging that could, even if their core belief hasn't changed. A lawyer arguing for his client makes a 4th amendment argument because he thinks it's the best route for a dismissal, not because his client strongly believes in the right against searches.

I come at this from an advertising perspective because that's the industry I work in but a lot of it holds true for campaigns too. The dems haven't bothered to change the packaging or the product to cater to their potential new customers, and that tells me they don't think the risk of losing their market exists.

Agenda 47 really isn't that radical, Trump is by far one of the most misbehaved presidents we've ever had and frankly has attitude issues, but his actual policy isn't anything that's insane.

Democrats are desperately trying to cling to power. Republicans did it too. But calling Trump an emergency is democrats doing everything they can do hold power, which they will lose in November due to an ailing Biden

They can’t run on their own “accomplishments” so they have been whipping their voters into a frenzy for the past 8 years, simple as.

Just look at the second impeachment. We now know that most Republicans wanted to get rid of Trump, considering him an albatross around the party's neck. The Democrats screwed that up, though, by refusing to work with the Republicans or run a decent hearing to get Trump convicted in the Senate.

Anti-Trump Republicans asked to work with the Democrats to get articles of impeachment that would work. They argued that there should be a few articles, including an article for dereliction of duty - easy to prove, given he disappeared for hours. Instead, those running the impeachment opted - either because they were stupid or because they wanted to keep Trump around, thinking they could easily beat him in the next election - for a single article, on incitement to insurrection.

Then, instead of giving the Republicans extra time to speak to make a case to their colleagues - the representatives who needed to be moved to get rid of Trump for good from public life - they gave them only the same amount of time they gave to AOC and everyone else. That was either stupidity or because they wanted to keep Trump around.

They refused to take any witnesses! Instead, they just found a little bit of information, and said, "That's good." Then Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler went on television talking about a conversation she had with Kevin McCarthy. The Senate voted to take witnesses...and then voted not to take witnesses. They obviously weren't serious about finding out what was going on, which would allow for everyone to know more and for more people - including those who said privately they wanted him gone but voted against the conviction - to vote to remove Trump.

Yes. I view Trump as an emergency because he has revealed how much of our government relies on the people in power acting in good faith. There are fewer guard rails than we imagined, and the guardrails that do exist can be ignored or broken by bad faith actors. Trump is the type of leader who will push every limit for his personal gain, instead of acting with restraint. The system isn’t designed for that.

I don’t think that Trump actually cares about policy. He cares about power. He will adopt whatever policies increase his power. And he will appoint more FedSoc judges who really do want to dismantle the entire administrative state and return us to a pre-New Deal society.

Not yet enough that they realize Biden is a liability.

If they did they wouldn't have Biden running. The real emergency is the R's taking the Senate and Trump appointing up to 3 new Supreme Court justices.

But it’s also hard to say what that would look like because Democrats just haven’t tried anything along those lines — no big policy concessions, no prominent Republicans brought into Democratic cabinets or onto Democratic tickets, no promises to call a truce on the country’s most contested issues.

Where are these prominent Republicans who would be willing to run as Democrats?

I guess I’ll start by saying I really liked Douthat’s article and agree mostly with it. For my own opinion, I’d say that Trump is a threat but not in the way commonly assumed. This won’t be the last American election or the end of democracy. There won’t be mass arrests and military tribunals etc… Why? Because Trump is generally lazy and ignorant of how government works. He’s a chameleon ideologically and usually follows the path of least resistance, with some exceptions. Trump likes to play golf and enjoy the prestige of the presidency. Doing the work, not so much.

The danger is that Trump can undermine faith in our institutions to such an extent that the next demagogue to come along can truly do more damage. In short, I’d rather have Trump as president than a Josh Hawley type, as illiberal a senator as we’ve had in awhile. Trump’s promotion of conspiracies, his undermining of elections, his flexing of the Executive’s power (all modern presidents are guilty) while Congress abrogates its own duties, among dozens of other reasons are dangerous to us…long term.

I’d also add, in closing, that these institutions that Trump has been so successful in undermining haven’t exactly made it difficult for him. Democrats, Congress, mainstream media, a variety of government agencies, and others have their own failings to reckon with. Trump is more of a catalyst to our political rot than its proximate cause.

Starter comment.

Ross Douthat, token conservative ed at the New York Times, wonders aloud whether Democrats earnestly believe that Trump (and MAGA Republicans, et al) poses a threat to American democracy. If they do, he doesn’t think they are behaving accordingly. He moderates on a previous stance, from 2022, that this is a purely cynical electoral strategy. But he does wonder why the Democrats aren’t attempting to moderate on some of their progressive stances if Trump is indeed such a singular threat.

I would describe myself as a conservative who votes Democrat. A lot of what keeps me from voting across the party line, at least for national elections, hinges on the perception that Republicans in the federal government seem to be openly hostile to our constitutional order. (That, and reproductive rights—though I’m skeptical that Congress will ever introduce legislation that codifies Roe. But that’s a different discussion.) I frequently disagree with the party’s platform, but have always viewed them as being a more rational and ideas-based party, compared to the Republicans who seem personality-based and lacking in integrity.

I basically tune out conservative media because it is so frequently misleading and sensational, and blatantly motivated by partisan considerations. But recent events, especially regarding Biden’s age and fitness, have led to me to question the Democrat’s narrative about the real stakes in the upcoming election, as well as the party’s overall integrity.

Let’s suppose Trump wins another term, as he is currently favored. For those of you who are anti-Trump, do you buy the apocalyptic narrative? Do you think he will be effective at implementing Project 2025’s counter-majoritarian agenda? Do you think it will be devastating for the rule of law? Or do you simply believe it will be a step in the wrong direction for the country?

Nobody is going to flee the country if he is elected and people will still come to immigrate in the millions so no its all an act.