#democratic-norms

#democratic-norms

Mr Trump does not seek to criminalise hate speech so much as to criminalise speech he hates. The US is being dragged into a state of emergency. Speech is framed as terrorism. Satire is rebranded as enemy propaganda. Employers punish workers for personal posts. The predictable result is a chilling climate of surveillance and reprisal, in which citizens learn to keep quiet.

The murder of Minnesota Democratic state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in June. An arson fire at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's house in April. The shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York sidewalk in December. Before that, the hammer attack that nearly killed Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, at their San Francisco home, and two attempted assassinations of President Trump. The events have shaken people on the left and the right.

Michelle Cottle emphasizes the crisis challenging the rule of law under the Trump administration, highlighting concerns over how far it will go in undermining democratic norms.