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In the weeks before he was infected with the crown, Trump made a series of surprising statements about the American election.
The president did not promise to accept the election result easily. Although he did poorly in the polls, he claimed that Democrats can only win by resorting to voter fraud.
– It seems to go a long way in discrediting the election, says Tore Wig, professor of political science at the University of Oslo.
He fears the consequences if Trump loses by a narrow margin and there is a dispute in the judiciary over the outcome. Then, Wig believes there will be a risk of an “authoritarian outcome” in which Trump refuses to resign.
– The enemies of the people
The president’s claims about the elections are part of a long series of statements and actions that have led critics to call him a threat to democracy in the United States.
He has accused the US media of hatred and repeatedly called them “enemies of the people.” Furthermore, it has led fierce verbal attacks against the judiciary and has not condemned radical right-wing groups that have used violence against their opponents.
After Trump took office in 2017, Wig warned that Trump could undermine democracy. In an interview with NTB, he referred to attempts to undermine the independence of the judiciary, something that is typically seen in dictatorships.
– It has gone in the direction I feared, says Wig when describing the situation four years later.
The core of democracy
The political scientist emphasizes that the presidential elections on November 3 are most likely to take place in a democratic manner.
But at the same time, he believes the risk to the contrary is alarmingly high.
– That the incumbent president resigns if he loses is the very core of democracy. “I think it’s very scary that Trump has even given up on the idea of not doing that,” Wig told NTB.
He has the impression that Trump is trying to “delegitimize the election as an institution.”
Wig also notes that, until recently, Trump has refused to promise a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election.
A few days ago in Miami, the president assured that he will ensure a peaceful transfer of power. But just a few weeks ago, he refused to make such a promise.
Warns against cheating
Trump himself claims that it is he who runs the risk of being a victim of electoral fraud and undemocratic methods.
When the president does not automatically agree to accept the result of the election, the reason is that the official result may be incorrect. Trump claims that the extensive use of postal votes during the crown pandemic paves the way for voter fraud.
But these claims have never been proven or documented. Therefore, Wig and other analysts perceive Trump’s accusations as an attempt to question the outcome of the elections before they are held.
Additionally, more Democrats than Republicans plan to vote by mail, a scheme Trump says he doesn’t trust.
– An announced coup
Also in the United States, political scientists and historians have warned of an uncertain situation for American democracy before the elections.
– For me, as a historian, it is difficult to launch a coup that has been so clearly announced in advance, Professor Timothy Snyder recently told New York magazine.
Snyder, who works at Yale University, believes that Trump is trying to undermine the legitimacy of the election, and that shows that he wants to retain power illegally.
History professor Anne Berg at the University of Pennsylvania also issued a dramatic warning in a recent interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer. She compared the current situation in the United States to that of Germany in the 1930s, before Adolf Hitler took power.
Divisions in society
However, it is not just Trump’s statements and actions that arouse Berg’s concern. It refers to the strong polarization in American society, where various groups have weakened in the belief that democracy works.
– Fragmentation, disillusionment, the feeling that conflicting worldviews are fundamentally incompatible. This is an important parallel, Berg believes.
Tore Wig emphasizes that he believes that the result of the November US elections will most likely be respected.
And at least one scenario that worried him in 2017 has not come true: Trump has not sought to exploit international crises or attacks on Americans to tighten his grip on power.
In other areas, the situation has developed in a worse direction than he imagined four years ago.
– It does not seem that the Republican Party limits what Trump comes up with. That makes the situation scarier, says Wig.
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