By Sabrine Al Ajaroudi, Department of Strategic Research and International Relations
08-06-2024
The American landscape is witnessing a seismic shift in the realm of democracy, tearing through the veneer of tradition and revealing the raw underbelly of political ambition. In the wake of former President Donald Trump’s tumultuous reign, the very fabric of representative democracy in the United States finds itself stretched to its limits, grappling with a leader determined to defy legal gravity and grasp at the reins of power once more, despite facing a barrage of 34 legal battles.
Gone are the days of conventional electoral contests; a new era has dawned, where the rules of engagement are blurred, and political strife reaches fever pitch. As the Republican incumbent clings to aspirations of a second term, the American political landscape finds itself navigating uncharted waters, challenging the established Western model of representative democracy. This model, long criticized for its divergence from democratic ideals in practice, now faces a formidable contender in the rise of participatory democracy. Against a backdrop of global turmoil and shifting international dynamics, the shortcomings of the Western democratic paradigm are laid bare, inviting scrutiny and debate.
The very notion of Trump’s candidacy amid looming legal ramifications raises profound questions about the essence of democracy itself. Can a leader lacking the fundamental virtues of democracy be a legitimate contender? Does popular will alone suffice as the cornerstone of democracy?
“Silver Lining in Electoral Rivalry”
Certainly, the answer to that is a definitive no. It is imperative that candidates meet certain criteria enabling them to stand out in the roster of qualified politicians entering the electoral competition. Otherwise, political competition would have veered into arbitrary and illogical dimensions, both in form and content. Throughout history, even in instances of minimal competition for power, successive presidents have adhered to constitutional and legal norms, at least formally. However, what we witness today is a complete violation, by all standards, of established democratic processes. These mechanisms were supposed to ensure, at the very least, the smooth progression of these operations along a secure path, devoid of convolutions and contradictory paths. This is what allowed people, each time, to welcome the outcomes of these processes with agreed-upon and constitutionally defined results. It allows the winner to be our legislator within the electoral college.
This contradicts, according to analysts, with a potential future victory for Trump in the upcoming U.S. presidential elections, and even with a victory for Biden. With the Republican Party’s announcement of Trump’s candidacy in the upcoming elections, without any final ruling affecting his potential presidency, it essentially amounts to rebellion, chaos, and a blatant failure of all constitutional and legal principles, particularly with the significant anger of Trump’s supporters at the judgments issued by the courts, which they consider a conspiracy crafted against the Republican candidate.
Legal Contradictions
The trial directed against the Republican candidate, Trump, involves a series of contradictions. Initially, Trump expressed the pressure imposed on him by the judiciary, compelling him to attend sessions at a rate of four times a week, which keeps him away from the election campaign every day. Yet, with the condemnation, he regains his full freedom until July 11, the date of sentencing, just four days before the conference where Trump will be officially appointed as the Republican Party’s candidate for the presidential elections scheduled for November 5.
The judge has given Trump’s defense team until June 13 to present their pleadings before the sentencing, and the prosecutor until June 27 to respond to these pleadings.
The Prosecutor, Alvin Bragg, stated during a press conference that the jury spoke, finding the former U.S. president guilty of all charges against him. He indicated that the 12 jury members unanimously reached a verdict, convicting the defendant of “34 counts of strict accounting fraud to conceal a conspiracy aimed at undermining the 2016 elections.”
The penalties imposed on Trump include accounting document forgery, punishable under New York law by up to 4 years, which can be mitigated unless the convict has a criminal record, a circumstance applicable to Trump. Alongside this, he is accused of “participating in an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential elections and participating in an illegal plan to suppress negativity.”
According to U.S. law, as reported by media sources, Trump’s conviction, even imprisonment, does not preclude his candidacy for the presidential elections. Therefore, Trump did not hesitate to declare his challenge, stating that these penalties constitute a real disgrace to an innocent man. He believes that electoral votes will decide the matter on the scheduled election date, as his victory will not prevent him from assuming the presidency until 2025.
However, it is worth mentioning that Trump assuming the presidency will not prevent him from being legally pursued, and he has no authority to prevent this pursuit because the cases against him fall under New York jurisdiction. However, this will tarnish Trump’s reputation.
Experts indicate that the prospect of Trump going to jail seems unlikely, especially with no criminal record and the charges against him being non-violent. This is not unprecedented in U.S. history. In 1920, a similar incident occurred with the Socialist Party candidate, Eugene Debs, who was sentenced to ten years in prison for inciting insubordination and encouraging American citizens to reject the draft. Nevertheless, he ran for president and his imprisonment contributed to his campaign, garnering a million votes in the presidential elections.
From this perspective, the trajectory within which presumed democracy in the United States is heading will exacerbate its collapse, if not stronger than its predecessors due to the politicization of the judiciary and making prison a means of electoral propaganda, and presenting political prisoners as state heroes, despite their crimes as proven by legal and constitutional institutions. Trump’s supporters immediately launched a fundraising campaign for him with allegations of conspiracy against the Republican candidate.
As for Trump, he did not hesitate for a moment to accuse the American justice system of corruption and judicial favoritism, which also opens the door for him to cast doubt on the election results if he does not win the largest number of votes.
Fake Democratic Attire and Further Decline
Throughout decades, one of the prominent endeavors of the United States was to present itself as the democratic country in control of all international balances. This trend received particular support, especially in 2021 with the emergence of the “Summit for Democracy.” However, Washington has proven its abysmal failure with all successive international events, becoming conspicuously manifest in a country that can only be described as stuck in the illusion of democracy, imposing war crimes and crimes against humanity abroad by exploiting its global power. This counterfeit democracy is nothing but a means of manipulation, stoking conflicts in line with its interests, and dividing the world into alliances that engage in proxy wars.
There are many obstacles that have uncovered the policies of American leaders, exposing their agendas and strategies for managing the world, such as escalating political polarization, widening wealth gaps, racial discrimination, and societal divisions. Thus, what was previously promoted during the era of President Abraham Lincoln when he said, “government of the people, by the people, for the people,” has become today a “ridiculous joke” to the world. The simplest process upon which countries could anchor democracy (the electoral process) has been and remains infiltrated by political money in the United States, power plainly and without the need to delve into other mazes is clearly not the domain of the elite rich, nor is it owned by the people as claimed. Therefore, the apparent reality is contrary to what actually exists—a mere formal democracy with no substantive basis neither in policies, internal systems, nor even in relation to the American people. It merely wears the attire of democracy to impose its lies on sovereign countries, to manage them internally, enforce its policies, and divide the world in accordance with its self-interests.
Using democracy as an excuse has had negative implications, making it, at one point, easy and intuitive to accuse anyone who criticizes American policies and its system of terrorism. However, the American scene has not been devoid of glaring criticisms from Americans themselves, among them the American professor, Paul Craig Roberts, who admitted that the United States was adept at using slogans of freedom and fake democracy only to present itself as the democratic country to emulate, all to gain leverage in intervening in the internal affairs of countries, escalating conflicts, spreading chaos, funding terrorist organizations, and engaging in any inhumane criminal act, as long as it ultimately revolves around its own interests. Even espionage has become an American business spread not only domestically but also abroad, undermining the security of all nations without giving any value to their sovereignty.