Yesterday was a good example of how dangerous ignoring Trump’s attacks on democracy can be in the long run. Here are just a few of the events of the last 24 hours:
- Forecast says another sleepy oval meeting
Trump held a cabinet meeting where each secretary showered him with sycophantic praise while he periodically dozed off. The Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, credited Trump with controlling the weather: "Sir, you made it through hurricane season without a hurricane. Even you kept the hurricanes away. We appreciate that.” Trump unironically responded, “yeah.”
- Prison break for a MAGA hero
Trump’s right-wing supporters suggested that the U.S. military should break a Colorado inmate out of state prison. The convicted felon in question, Tina Peters, has become an icon of the election denier movement and has taken on hero status within much of the MAGA movement.
- The hoosier state dunks on its own gerrymander
The Indiana legislature took the first step toward complying with Trump’s demand to gerrymander its already gerrymandered map, zeroing out the only two Democratic seats. When asked whether the Indiana map complied with the federal Voting Rights Act, the Republican legislator responsible for the map said he had “no idea about that question at all.”
Shortly before 6:00pm last night, Trump falsely posted on social media that he was canceling all pardons and commutations issued by former President Joe Biden because they were allegedly memorialized via an autopen. The lie was an effort to distract from an embarrassing night of special election losses for Republicans.
- It’s time to take away grandpa’s phone
Last night, Trump had what can only be described as a meltdown. Over the course of almost five hours, he posted on Truth Social once a minute. It was bizarre and unhinged — even for Trump. The posts ranged from clips of his cameo in “Home Alone” to dangerous conspiracy theories about the 2024 election. And of course, he ranted about the autopen. The Truth Social rampage is scary for two reasons: It’s another sign of Trump’s rapid mental decline, and it highlights the world of conspiracy and revenge that Trump is leading.
- DOJ’s latest blitz for voter information
Perhaps most troubling, the Department of Justice filed six new lawsuits against Democratic-controlled states to obtain access to sensitive data on every single voter. This is in addition to the eight lawsuits the DOJ had previously filed against other Democratic controlled states. These 14 lawsuits represent a direct attack on these states’ ability to protect voter privacy while administering elections.
As I perused legacy media last night and this morning, I noticed that coverage for some of these stories was few and far between. While Democracy Docket provided detailed analysis of each of the election-related threats, the largest news outlets focused nearly exclusively on the cabinet meeting, claims to rescind Biden’s pardons and Trump’s social media meltdown.
It is not that these three stories are unimportant. They’re very important! But only if they are presented for what they are: the authoritarian actions of a doddering old man. The legacy media’s tendency to discount the significance of these stories and suggest they reflect Trump’s idiosyncrasies is more dangerous than failing to cover them at all.
We cannot allow ourselves to fall into these bad habits and dangerous patterns. We cannot ignore the insidious threat in front of us. If we do, we are letting Trump win. As I said, his most effective weapon is normalizing the abnormal.
Trump — and the legacy media — are lulling us into submission. We are far too used to Trump’s outbursts, crimes and unconstitutional actions. We have a responsibility to report on this behavior with the urgency it deserves. For the future of our democracy and our country, we cannot fall asleep at the wheel. At Democracy Docket, we’re stepping on the gas and driving full speed ahead.
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