US democracy declining under Trump: Study
Democracy in the United States has experienced a significant decline under President Donald Trump, who keeps attacking people's democratic freedoms on a regular basis, a new study states.
Freedom House, a US-based non-governmental group, warned in its latest report on Monday that US democratic freedoms were eroding at rates similar to countries where democracy had been ultimately overtaken by authoritarianism.
The report put American democracy on the same level with Greece, Croatia and Mongolia, well behind its European allies such as Germany, France and Britain.
“The greatest danger comes from the fact that American democracy is not infinitely durable, especially if a president shows little respect for its tenets,” wrote Michael Abramowitz, president of Freedom House.
Abramowitz said Trump took most of the blame for undermining democratic freedoms such as separation of powers, free press, independent and impartial judiciary, and the legitimacy of elections.
He accused the Republican president of “straining our core values and testing the stability of our constitutional system.”
“No president in living memory has shown less respect for its tenets, norms and principles,” he added.
Trump has repeatedly attacked various media outlets opposing his policies, calling them as “fake news” and “enemies of the nation.”
The administration has targeted asylum seekers and refugees with harsh policies, causing division between the US public and dealing a heavy blow to America’s ratings for equal treatment before the law in Freedom House’s study.
After winning the 2016 election through electoral votes and despite losing the popular vote, Trump formed a voter fraud committee, accusing Democrats of getting undocumented immigrants to vote in favor of his rival, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
The president has also attacked federal courts for disputing his policies and called for more Republican judges.
Freedom House, considered the most authoritative group in issuing democracy assessments, has rated countries on political rights and civil liberties since 1973.
According to the organization’s latest report, 86 (44 percent) countries of 195 measured were rated Free, 59 (30 percent) Partly Free, and 50 (26 percent) Not Free.
Overall, the report said 2018 marked the 13th consecutive year of decline in global freedom.
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