Trump, or the Degradation of American Checks and Balances

Published in El Mundo
(Spain) on 11 June 2022
by Editorial (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Marta Quirós Alarcón. Edited by Patricia Simoni.
Never before has a former president of the United States, the foremost democracy in the world, been singled out for such a grave offense as has Donald Trump right now. The evidence presented by the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol is devastating and concludes that the Republican president led a conspiracy to remain in power after he lost the election. The shameful and violent actions that followed that fateful day on which five people died were an attempt to subvert the constitutional order, for which Trump bore responsibility first of all for repeating the big lie that sharply polarized his followers, and then for failing to do everything in his power to defuse the situation. The committee consists of seven Democrats and two Republicans, which is why the former president’s supporters believe it is politically motivated. However, it should be noted that the committee has collected testimony from more than 1,000 witnesses and more than 140,000 documents over the last year. And Trump’s actions after he lost the election, as he continuously declared that the election was stolen, was so despicable that even some of his strongest supporters, including his daughter Ivanka, admitted as much to the House committee.

The select committee’s findings lead off a series of public hearings scheduled in the coming weeks. Nevertheless, the case is not likely to curb Trump’s intention to run for reelection in 2024, aware as he is that he still has substantial support among his base. This proves the extent to which the American institutional framework has been degraded, one that features that has

This all proves the extent to which the institutional framework of the United States has been degraded, a framework that for centuries has proudly boasted of a checks and balances process America claimed served as a liberal model for the rest of the world to look up to. Trump is a populist, a man who is the complete opposite of what we expect from a leader sworn to preserve the constitutional order. His presidency provided ample evidence of how the system’s ability to monitor itself is suffering. Part of the problem lies in that the parties no longer control their own primary election process, which prevents that from barring access to such controversial figures.


Trump o la degradación del ‘checks and balances’ estadounidenses

Nunca un ex presidente de la primera democracia del globo, Estados Unidos, había sido señalado por un asunto de tanta gravedad como lo está ahora mismo Donald Trump. El informe del Comité del Congreso que investiga el asalto al Capitolio el 6 de enero de 2021 es demoledor y concluye que el republicano dirigió una conspiración para intentar permanecer en el poder cuando debía cederlo. Los hechos vergonzosos y violentos que sucedieron aquel fatídico día, en los que murieron cinco personas, fueron un intento de subvertir el orden constitucional en el que Trump tuvo una gran responsabilidad primero por reiterarse en una gran mentira que provocó la polarización extrema de un sector de sus seguidores y, después, por no hacer cuanto estuvo en su mano para rebajar la tensión. La comisión está integrada por siete demócratas y dos republicanos, lo que lleva a los simpatizantes del ex mandatario a tacharla de sectaria. Pero hay que subrayar que a lo largo del último año se han recogido testimonios de más de un millar de personas y más de 140.000 documentos del caso. Y la actuación de Trump tras perder las elecciones -mientras no cesaba de repetir que en realidad le estaban robando la victoria- fue tan indigna que incluso algunos de los máximos defensores de su mandato, como su hija Ivanka, lo han tenido que admitir ante el comité del Congreso.

Este informe es el anticipo de una larga lista de audiencias públicas que se van a suceder en las próximas semanas. Y, sin embargo, no parece que el caso vaya a frenar la intención de Trump de competir de nuevo para convertirse en el candidato de los republicanos en las próximas elecciones presidenciales, consciente de que sigue contando con importantes apoyos entre sus bases. Todo ello supone la constatación de hasta qué punto se ha ido degradando el entramado institucional de Estados Unidos, que durante siglos ha presumido con orgullo de sus controles y contrapesos -sus célebres checks and balances- como defensa de un modelo liberal en el que se miraba el resto del mundo. El mandato de Trump, un populista en las antípodas de lo que se espera de un dirigente obligado a preservar el orden constitucional, dio sobradas muestras de cómo se están resintiendo las capacidades de autocontrol dentro del sistema. Parte del problema reside en que a los partidos se les han ido de las manos sus propios procesos de primarias, lo que les impide poner coto al acceso de figuras tan controvertidas.
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