A mere two years after Donald Trump started his first term as president of the United States, authors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt published a fascinating book, How Democracies Die.  Clearly concerned by the Trump Administration’s initial “baby steps” toward dismantling American democracy, the authors laid out an expansive case focused on how certain modern-day democracies have eventually failed and why there were warning signs about Donald Trump’s actions.  Reading the authors’ warnings today, one is shocked by the foresight of the book’s conclusions.

America is Israel’s closest and most important ally and I would argue Israelis and its governments, present and future, – while today benefitting greatly from the Trump Administration’s support – should be very worried about Trump’s continued attacks on American democracy.

This post is not merely a simple reminder that a 7-year-old book full of warnings was, in fact, spot on.  It’s also an appeal to examine the anti-democracy moves Trump has made.  It’s a plea to recognize a less democratic America is bad for Israel.

When it comes to Trump and Israel, two opposing conclusions can be true at the same time.  Trump can be great for Israel.  Trump can be terrible for Israel.  When it comes to whether Trump is guilty of trying to subvert American Democracy, there is only one answer.

Putting Trump to the “Subversion of American Democracy” Test

After offering “Four Key Indicators of Authoritarian Behavior, “ (pages 28-29), How Democracies Die offers 15 questions to help determine whether an individual or a group of individuals (Thus the term “they” in the questions below.) are attempting to weaken a country’s democracy.

Let’s ask those questions and see how Trump’s actions end up answering them.

Do they suggest a need for antidemocratic measures, such as cancelling elections, violating or suspending the Constitution, banning certain organizations, or restricting basic civil or political rights?  After the 2020 election, Trump pressured election officials in a recorded and published phone call to Georgia’s Secretary of State, to find enough votes, by one, to overturn the state’s election results.  Also, he supported numerous efforts to create fake slates of state electors to guarantee he would be elected.

Do they seek to use (or endorse the use of) extraconstitutional means to change the government?  After repeatedly claiming that the 2020 election was stolen, Trump encouraged his  acolytes to come to Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021 – the day the election was to be certified by Congress.  At a rally that day, he urged his supporters to “fight like hell” and march to the Capitol.  We know what happened that day.  On his first day back in  office, January 20, 2025, Trump pardoned the January 6th protestors who, proudly, had injured 140 police officers causing concussions, fractures, burns and chemical exposures.  Many victims suffered from PTSD and several committed suicide in the subsequent months.

Do they describe their rivals as subversive or opposed to the existing constitutional order?  Trump has claimed his opponents (most often Democrats) are “the enemy from within” and has said his detractors are “radical left lunatics,” “communists” destroying America. Not surprisingly, he has claimed opponents engaged in fraud to take power illegitimately.  His “hit list” of opponents he claims should be investigated include former FBI director James Comey, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, former president Barack Obama, former president Joe Biden, former Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, former speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senator Adam Schiff, former January 6 Committee Chair Liz Cheney and many more.  Former President Richard Nixon, once the owner of the first well-known presidential “enemies list,” would have blushed at Trump’s expansive roster.

Have they praised (or refused to condemn) other significant acts of political violence, either in the past or elsewhere in the world?  Aside from his praise for the neo-Nazis marching in Charlottesville, VA in 2017 and the staunch defense of the January 6th rioters, Trump has been a “super fan” of notorious autocrats who have cracked down on their people, all in the name of preserving their own power.  Some of Trump’s favorite’s: Chinese Premier Xi Jiping’s repression in Hong Kong on protestors in 2019, Rodrigo Duerte’s campaign of extrajudicial killing in the Philippines from 2016 – 2022 and the whitewashing of Saudi Arabia’s killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Turkish President Erdogan’s attacks on Kurds.

Do they claim that their rivals constitute an existential threat, either to national security or to the prevailing way of life?  Saying he would use the military against the “enemy within,” Trump defined “radical left lunatics” and Democratic politicians as threatening enemies.  In a 2023 Veteran’s Day speech, Trump said he would “root out the communists, Marxists and fascists that live like vermin within the confines of our country.”  He later added that some groups – particularly immigrants – were “poisoning the blood of our country.”  Trump often refers to the media – that is, those that are not sycophants of his – as “enemies of the people.”

All of the remaining 10 questions in How Democracies Die are relevant when it comes to Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy:

Do they reject the Constitution or express a willingness to violate it?

Do they attempt to undermine the legitimacy of elections, for example, by refusing to accept credible electoral results?

Do they baselessly describe their partisan rivals as criminals, whose supposed violation of the law disqualifies them from full participation in the political arena?

Do they baselessly suggest that their rivals are foreign agents, in that they are secretly working in alliance with a foreign government?

Do they have any ties to armed guards, paramilitary forces, militias, guerillas or other organizations that engage in illicit violence?

Have they or their partisan allies sponsored or encouraged mob attacks on opponents?

Have they tacitly endorsed violence by their supporters by refusing to unambiguously condemn it and punish it?

Have they supported laws or policies that restrict civil liberties?

Have they threatened to take legal action or other punitive action against critics in rival parties, civil society or the media?

Have they praised repressive measures taken by other governments, either in the past or elsewhere in the world?

Simply put, the answer to every one of the remaining 10 questions above would be a resounding “YES!”  If scoring, we would have to give Donald Trump a perfect 15/15 for exhibiting signs of authoritarian behavior and trying to dismantle American democracy.

Israelis – while appreciating the Trump Administration’s current support – should worry about the next three years as Trump and his minions look to further erode American democracy.  These two close allies – the United States and Israel – need each other to be thriving, open, democracies dedicated to the rule of law, freedom, individual rights, independent courts and a rock-solid commitment to defend those attributes.

Looking at America today, Israelis should be very, very concerned.

IN MY NEXT POST: What Israelis should think about Trump’s actions and what, if anything, they should/could do about it.

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