Stop me if you’ve heard this…

“Democracy is doing just fine, thank you. We’re headed for a peaceful transfer of power. The government is still functioning. There are no riots in the streets.

What about all that talk before the election about Trump being a threat to democracy? Turns out, it was exactly that: just talk. Sure Trump made some wild claims during the campaign. But that’s just Trump being Trump. Don’t take it seriously. Nothing to see here…move along.”

Sound familiar? I’m sure you’ve read or heard something along these lines — certainly from Trump supporters but even from some on the left who desperately want to believe that things aren’t as serious as they are. 

Unfortunately, such statements are misguided at best — and a deliberate distortion at worst. To see just how distorted the rhetoric can get, here’s a quote from an obviously right-wing op-ed that recently appeared in The San Diego Union-Tribune. [I’m not going to cite the link to the article, or the author’s name, because I don’t want to provide undeserved publicity to such drivel].

“Democracy proved to be a terrible campaign concept in November. For ‘Save Democracy’ to work, there would have had to have been a real, obvious threat to democracy and, as much as Democrats tried to speak it into existence, voters did not believe that Trump was that threat. This is what Democrats are failing to see. Democracy is not at stake. And voters know that what Democrats want is not to preserve democracy for democracy’s sake, but as one of many means to justify their ends.”

So…what’s wrong with all of that? Just about everything. Here’s why…

Yes, it was a “free and fair election.” But that means very little about what is yet to come.

Was the election in November “free and fair”? For the most part, yes. But not because of efforts by Trump and the GOP. It was successful despite their efforts, We had to run a gauntlet of right-wing attempts at voter suppression and election manipulation to keep it fair. Thankfully, almost all the legal challenges against these anti-democratic actions were successful.

The other reason the election remains viewed as “free and fair,” ironically, is because Trump won. Had he lost, it is certain that Trump would have declared the election a fraud and proceeded down a road similar to what we saw in 2020 — which led to the January 6th insurrection. And his MAGA supporters would have followed him. So much for democracy being safe.

But in the end, as to whether or not Trump represented (and still represents) a threat to democracy, none of the above matters. The primary concern regarding democracy was never the election itself. The concern was always what would happen after the election — should Trump win and return to power. The concern was about Trump, once back in the White House, attempting to dismantle our democracy. And that is exactly where we now are.

There are already ominous signs about what is about to be unleashed. In Timothy Synder’s book On Tyranny, his first lesson in fighting tyranny is “Do not obey in advance.” Yet unforced capitulation is exactly what many corporate CEOs, government officials and (most especially) the supposed mainstream media are already doing — out of greed, a desire for power, and/or fear.

The post-election period, rather than dissipating fears about a looming autocracy, are confirming just how accurate those fears are.

Yes, Trump won. But that makes the threat to democracy that much more serious, not less so.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: The number of people that voted for or against Trump has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not he remains a threat to democracy. The MAGA world wants you to believe this is not the case; but it is.

Such people (as evidenced by the op-ed I cited above) argue that Trump’s victory proves he is not a danger: “After all, if he was so dangerous, the voters would have recognized this and he would have lost.” That may have almost been true a couple of decades ago — when anyone with Trump’s baggage of scandals, lies and criminal behavior would have never even gotten the nomination. But it’s certainly not true anymore — mostly thanks to a silo consisting of right-wing social media, Fox News, and disinformation campaigns. 

In any case, history tells us that even the most heinous dictators can garner enough support to win a democratic election — and then proceed to dismantle the freedoms and protections that permitted that election. It happened with the rise of Hitler in Germany [*] and the ascent of Putin in Russia, to cite two prominent examples from the last hundred years. Make no mistake: The path from a democratic election to autocratic rule is well trod — and we are already traveling down it.

Finally, even if you were inclined to accept the fallacious notion that voting totals correspond to the degree of threat that Trump represents, the election results mean that, for a huge swath of this country, the threat is very real. Trump’s margin over Harris, on a percentage basis, was extremely narrow — only 1.62 percent.

Yes, the claims about Trump and autocracy were a campaign issue. But that doesn’t make them any less true. Far from it.

Did the Democrats hope to that their warnings about Trump’s fascist plans would lead to his defeat? Absolutely. But that doesn’t make the warnings any less true. Trump has openly promised to lead this country down the road to autocracy — dismantling government institutions and using his office for personal gain and revenge — without regard for norms or legal constraints. This is exactly what autocrat-wannabes do. In an obvious bit of projection, Republicans may try to persuade the public that they are the victims rather than the perpetrators here. Don’t be fooled.

In the end, the “proof will be in the pudding.” A year from now, we’ll have a much clearer sense of where our democracy is heading. If my view is accurate, much of what I have been saying here will have moved from a warning to a reality. That doesn’t necessarily mean Trump’s supporters will have abandoned him. We know from history that dictators can maintain their popular support — at least for a while — even after they assume autocratic rule. The critical question will be — will it be too late to change course? Or will Trump have amassed so much power that — as with the dictators of the past — he can suspend our freedoms with impunity? Will 2024 turn out to be the last “free and fair” presidential election in this country? Stay tuned.

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* Synder quotes this incredible passage from a German Jewish newspaper in the 1930’s: “We do not subscribe to the view that Mr. Hitler and his friends, now finally in possession of the power they have so long desired, will implement the proposals circulating in [Nazi newspapers]; they will not suddenly deprive German Jews of their constitutional rights, nor enclose them in ghettos, nor subject them to the jealous and murderous impulses of the mob. They cannot do this because a number of crucial factors hold powers in check… and they clearly do not want to go down that road.”