Washington Post op-ed warns of 'mini-Trumps' threatening 'democracy'
Washington Post columnist Perry Bacon Jr. warned, 'We are not seeing democracy die in darkness but rather democratic decline in the light.'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Washington Post columnist Perry Bacon Jr. claimed Tuesday that former President Trump and other "mini-Trumps" like him are a "threat to democracy" itself.
"The biggest danger for American democracy is that Donald Trump or a figure like him succeeds at something bold and extreme like Jan. 6," Bacon warned in an op-ed headlined, "The mini-Trumps are as big a threat to democracy as Trump is."
He followed by claiming that "an almost equally important danger is that a bunch of mini-Trumps, some of whom you have never heard of," referring to rising Republican leaders.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The columnist recounted a litany of Republican policies and political actions across the United States, warning they foretell the possible end of political normalcy in American life.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, right, with former President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
Bacon suggested these "mini-Trumps" can "take several hundred actions" that "gradually create either a national government or 25 to 30 state governments where elections are rigged by gerrymandering and voting restrictions."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He also warned of a dystopian scenario "where news coverage and other forms of public accountability are nonexistent, and where people worry about retribution if they disagree with their political leaders."
He singled out Republicans for "eroding American democracy day by day," saying that they "at the state and local levels, are regularly taking actions that add up to an antidemocratic movement."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A video of former President Donald Trump played on a screen during a hearing of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., July 21, 2022. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The examples he provided covered a wide range of topics: "They are reducing news media access, making it harder to vote, aggressively gerrymandering legislative districts and using government power to threaten their political enemies. We are not seeing democracy die in darkness but rather democratic decline in the light."
Bacon also condemned "Florida Republicans" for having "barred some journalists of mainstream media publications from a recent party conference while admitting those from right-wing outlets."
The writer mentioned that the Jan. 6 hearings "are depicting one huge antidemocratic move — the attempt by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
"America stopped Trump on Jan. 6. But we are not yet stopping Trumpism," he concluded.
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Last month, Bacon called on the media to "cover Biden more positively," complaining that "relentless negative coverage is toxic."