Trump’s Conspiratorial States of America
The enemy of U.S. democracy supposedly comes from Beijing — but he's actually sitting in the Oval Office.
On the open stage, Donald Trump is spreading more distrust and laying the argumentative groundwork to reshape the U.S. electoral system to his advantage. Destroying all trust in state institutions allows Trump to build new authoritarian structures on top of the rubble of the old democracy. This is a dangerous process that has been playing out before our very eyes. With his speech, the U.S. president is now demonstrating, above all, midterm panic. It doesn't look good for the upcoming midterm elections in November, so Trump is going to address the fundamental issue: the electoral system.
In order to make changes seem necessary even before the election date, Trump needs a scapegoat. China's communists have taken the lead role in Trump's speeches. China, according to the conspiracy theory, allegedly wants to influence elections with voter data. (Which is already legally available in America.) It is true, and well known, that China wanted Trump to lose the 2020 election — but the efforts of Russia and Iran, two other countries that sought to interfere with the U.S. election, are much better documented.
Election Interference
The most dangerous announcement is that once again Trump is severely calling into question the electoral system and its credibility. This is preparation for using the federal authorities to intervene in the election and its conduct. So far, it has been a matter for the states and not the federal government.
Nothing less than a new version of well-known conspiracy theories has emerged; Trump invoked the "Deep State," "fake news," and communist infiltration from China, but Trump has also referred to the Democrats as “communists” for months now.
America has indeed been infiltrated – not by China, but by Trump, who turns everything to his advantage. Beginning in August, users will have to pay to view the president's market-moving posts in real time on his own social media platform, "Truth Social." Those who don't pay up won't benefit from the stock prices being influenced by his announcements.
Although the White House released documents at the same time as Trump's speech, the president, of course, has failed to provide any evidence that the 2020 election victory was stolen from him. Featured in the new documents are, of all things, some that describe Russian efforts to implicate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, in a corruption scandal.
The Enemy in the Oval Office
The issue is the exaggeration of the enemy being from the outside, when in actuality, the enemy of democracy is already sitting in the Oval Office. Trump indulges in conspiracy theories, stigmatizes "rigged" mail-in votes in his speech, and hopes that it will be stopped in the future. The West Coast and Utah predominately vote by mail — which is a thorn in the side of Republicans.
Trump expected that his speech would be broadcast live on all the TV networks. NBC and ABC decided otherwise, and CNN took his claims and fact-checked them. These networks were subjected to harsh criticism during the speech itself: Trump threatened to revoke their licenses.
The only U.S. elections that are at an especially high risk of manipulation are future elections, as long as Trump continues to abuse the office of the presidency.
On the open stage, Donald Trump is spreading more distrust and laying the argumentative groundwork to reshape the U.S. electoral system to his advantage. Destroying all trust in state institutions allows Trump to build new authoritarian structures on top of the rubble of the old democracy. This is a dangerous process that has been playing out before our very eyes. With his speech, the U.S. president is now demonstrating, above all, midterm panic. It doesn't look good for the upcoming midterm elections in November, so Trump is going to address the fundamental issue: the electoral system.
In order to make changes seem necessary even before the election date, Trump needs a scapegoat. China's communists have taken the lead role in Trump's speeches. China, according to the conspiracy theory, allegedly wants to influence elections with voter data. (Which is already legally available in America.) It is true, and well known, that China wanted Trump to lose the 2020 election — but the efforts of Russia and Iran, two other countries that sought to interfere with the U.S. election, are much better documented.
Election Interference
The most dangerous announcement is that once again Trump is severely calling into question the electoral system and its credibility. This is preparation for using the federal authorities to intervene in the election and its conduct. So far, it has been a matter for the states and not the federal government.
Nothing less than a new version of well-known conspiracy theories has emerged; Trump invoked the "Deep State," "fake news," and communist infiltration from China, but Trump has also referred to the Democrats as “communists” for months now.
America has indeed been infiltrated – not by China, but by Trump, who turns everything to his advantage. Beginning in August, users will have to pay to view the president's market-moving posts in real time on his own social media platform, "Truth Social." Those who don't pay up won't benefit from the stock prices being influenced by his announcements.
Although the White House released documents at the same time as Trump's speech, the president, of course, has failed to provide any evidence that the 2020 election victory was stolen from him. Featured in the new documents are, of all things, some that describe Russian efforts to implicate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, in a corruption scandal.
The Enemy in the Oval Office
The issue is the exaggeration of the enemy being from the outside, when in actuality, the enemy of democracy is already sitting in the Oval Office. Trump indulges in conspiracy theories, stigmatizes "rigged" mail-in votes in his speech, and hopes that it will be stopped in the future. The West Coast and Utah predominately vote by mail — which is a thorn in the side of Republicans.
Trump expected that his speech would be broadcast live on all the TV networks. NBC and ABC decided otherwise, and CNN took his claims and fact-checked them. These networks were subjected to harsh criticism during the speech itself: Trump threatened to revoke their licenses.
The only U.S. elections that are at an especially high risk of manipulation are future elections, as long as Trump continues to abuse the office of the presidency.
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