The GOP as a whole has no use for democracy, as evidenced by its extreme gerrymandering, contempt for the outcomes of referenda, consistent embrace of positions that poll poorly, and approval of measures making voting more difficult. Trump is an exemplar, not an outlier, within his party on those points. What, then, sets him apart from the rest of the GOP?
Trump’s claim to be fighting to protect the integrity of our 2020 election was pure eyewash; there is plenty of evidence showing that he knew he lost, but he didn’t consider his loss to be legitimate, because as far as he’s concerned, only “real Americans” should have the right to vote, and they overwhelmingly supported him. The fact that many GOP House members voted against certifying the election is strong evidence that a large segment of the party agrees with him. That isn’t the answer to the question.
No, what sets Trump apart is his contempt for liberal norms. He openly talks about firing huge numbers of civil servants and replacing them with MAGA loyalists, directing the DOJ to prosecute his enemies, and using the Insurrection Act to clamp down on political dissent. His enthusiasm for tariffs is largely based on his legal ability to grant exemptions to people who suck up to him. He has said that anything the president does is legal by definition. He is an autocrat; he demands the legal ability to behave arbitrarily and to ignore the constitutional rights of Americans who disagree with him.
That, my friends, is why he is such a threat to our system. He hates both pillars of liberal democracy.