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Back to Basics [View all]
When anti-Trump forces burst forth in rallies across the country this spring, their quirky “No Kings” battle cry proved to be a stroke of genius, a succinct and nonideological way to protest the president’s authoritarian policies. The remarkable turnout was a reminder that nothing brings the left and center together quite like Donald Trump, especially as he rides roughshod over the Constitution in his second term.
While it was crystal clear what protesters were fighting against, it was less clear what they were fighting for. Capital-D Democracy? That’s probably what most protesters would say, but the truth is that even before Trump, faith in American democracy was fraying.
Polls show that confidence in our democratic system has been in a decades-long decline. A Gallup poll published in early 2025 found that just 34 percent of adults were satisfied with the way our democracy is working. When the firm began polling on the question in 1984, 61 percent were satisfied.
Complaints about the political system are often transient, a passing fury among those who dislike the most recent election results. But Gallup, in a rare finding, reported nearly equal levels of dissatisfaction among Democrats and Republicans in early 2025. Trump’s popular-vote victory in 2024 improved Republicans’ attitude from a year ago, but the poll found nearly two-thirds of them were dissatisfied with our democracy.
Discontent with our democracy has deep roots that reach across party lines and national borders. Voters have been ground down by frustration with a gridlocked political system that has failed to deliver on its promises to working people, while catering to the wealthy and corporations. And that has provided fertile ground for autocrats—in the U.S. and around the world—who promise to “get things done.”
While it was crystal clear what protesters were fighting against, it was less clear what they were fighting for. Capital-D Democracy? That’s probably what most protesters would say, but the truth is that even before Trump, faith in American democracy was fraying.
Polls show that confidence in our democratic system has been in a decades-long decline. A Gallup poll published in early 2025 found that just 34 percent of adults were satisfied with the way our democracy is working. When the firm began polling on the question in 1984, 61 percent were satisfied.
Complaints about the political system are often transient, a passing fury among those who dislike the most recent election results. But Gallup, in a rare finding, reported nearly equal levels of dissatisfaction among Democrats and Republicans in early 2025. Trump’s popular-vote victory in 2024 improved Republicans’ attitude from a year ago, but the poll found nearly two-thirds of them were dissatisfied with our democracy.
Discontent with our democracy has deep roots that reach across party lines and national borders. Voters have been ground down by frustration with a gridlocked political system that has failed to deliver on its promises to working people, while catering to the wealthy and corporations. And that has provided fertile ground for autocrats—in the U.S. and around the world—who promise to “get things done.”
https://prospect.org/culture/books/2025-08-12-back-to-basics-nwanevu-review/]