From him. Donald Trump is, right now, the greatest domestic threat to democracy our country has seen in our lifetimes. He lies about the crime rate in order to scare people into voting for a would-be Caesar who claims he will keep us safe. Trump not only appeals to the fears and racial anxieties of people afraid of demographic change, he exacerbates them. He paints a picture of an America in flames, and tells us that he, alone, can save us. With Trump, and only Trump, can we have law and order. Otherwise, we’ll have chaos. That’s the way a Mussolini talks, not a Lincoln or a Roosevelt. Certainly not someone who believes in constitutional democracy.
Trump says that our leadership is weak, and that he will bring strength. This dime store Nietzsche believes that when people are scared they will turn to a strongman to protect them. Trump does not offer a set of principles in which he believes, but instead a cult of personality. It really is all about him. Anyone who seeks power in such a way is a danger to democracy.
Trump says he’ll win where President Obama and Secretary Clinton have lost, he’ll make America great again, and respected again. He says he knows to get the best deal for us. However, one concrete thing the Republican Convention has shown us is that Trump is such a poor negotiator that he couldn’t even get Ted Cruz to endorse him in return for a primetime speaking slot. That’s not strength, in fact, it’s truly pathetic.
In addition to whatever else Hillary Clinton says in her acceptance speech, she must highlight the gravest threat our country, our democracy faces right now. That threat is Donald Trump.
Ian Reifowitz is the author of Obama’s America: A Transformative Vision of Our National Identity (Potomac Books).