Where support for American democracy is the most wobbly
Story by Philip Bump • 21h • 5 min read
One of the central arguments being made by President Biden as the presidential election nears is that American democracy hangs in the balance. The idea that Donald Trump poses a unique and significant threat to democracy has been a theme of Biden’s rhetoric since before his 2020 election, though he sharpened the argument significantly after the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters attempted to block the finalization of Biden’s election.
New Washington Post-Schar School polling conducted in six swing states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) shows that confidence in democracy and American elections is lower among supporters of Donald Trump — but that voters in those states are more likely to say that Trump would do a better job addressing those concerns. Those most sympathetic to an authoritarian form of government, meanwhile, include demographic groups that have traditionally voted heavily Democratic.
The Post-Schar School poll included a number of questions aimed at evaluating views of democracy. They included:
Which candidate do you think would do a better job handling threats to democracy in the U.S.?
How satisfied are you with the way democracy is working in the U.S.?
How much do you trust that elections in the U.S. are fair?
Regardless of whom you supported in the 2020 election, do you think Joe Biden’s election as president was legitimate, or was he not legitimately elected?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/where-support-for-american-democracy-is-the-most-wobbly/ar-BB1oWKRk?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=0076d8b84919433db1e3026a7082265c&ei=93
