.@CoreyRobin minimizes Trump's threat to democracy in this article; that's a defensible position, but he uses some highly flawed reasoning; a few points: /1 theguardian.com/us-news/commen…
1st, Robin focuses on a contrast b/w Trump & Hitler, noting how rapidly Hitler consolidated power; this is not the right comparison nor the one knowledgeable political scientists make; the most relevant cases display slow dem erosion (Ven, Hung, Turkey, Poland) /2
Robin cites 3 articles at the top on warnings about Trump, but only 1 mentions Hitler & only in passing (as an example of someone who was dismissed); he then pivots as if everyone is comparing Trump & Hitler, but this is a straw man /3
2nd, Robin points to how Trump has been constrained in various ways, losing elections, court cases, legislation; some of this is mistaken: FL drilling withdrawal was not "backing down," but a (likely illegal) favor to a co-partisan; but yes, Trump's been constrained /4
What this ignores is that many cases of dem erosion begin w/ initial frustrations, esp in Venezuela, Peru, Poland; most modern authoritarianism is not totalitarian: autocrats lose elections, face down critics, & deal w/ courts /5
What distinguishes dem from auth is whether elections are free & fair, not whether they always go one way; whether rule of law is always respected, rather than sometimes; & whether press scrutiny & protest occur w/o fear of reprisal /6
3rd, Robin doesn't discuss any of the worrisome signs; besides Trump's rhetoric & attacks on the press, there's the firing of Comey, signs of political intervention in law enforcement, conflicts of interest, etc. /7
None of that *equals* authoritarianism, but needs to be discussed when debating threats & anticipating the future; Robin just doesn't address it /8
Finally, Robin makes a strange argument that "the U.S. is more open and freer today" because lots of people have joined the ACLU; this is like saying that if a bunch of people buy hurricane insurance, there must not be any risk of a hurricane /9
Again, there's a fair debate on how much threat is there; Trump has not become a dictator in 1 year, but we should recognize the damage to norms, rule of law, & exec agencies, & the debate should be grounded in the right comparisons w/ cases of dem erosion /end
