As Israeli democracy falters, U.S. voters must pay attention | Editorial

The unraveling of Israeli democracy is a harbinger of what could happen in the United States if Donald Trump and his supporters have their way.

Indeed, the situation playing out in Israel is eerily similar to Trump’s apparent endgame during his first term as president as he attacked the courts and the rule of law — and his grander vision to subvert American democracy if he returns to the White House.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets Monday after the Israeli parliament approved the first pillar of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s brazen plan to strip the Supreme Court’s power to strike down action by government ministers, thus eliminating checks and balances on far-right lawmakers who want to remold the country and undermine civil liberties and the free press.

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Like Trump, Netanyahu is a strongman who fawns over dictators such as Vladimir Putin. Netanyahu is a womanizer, who like Trump has been married three times and lived a life of entitlement. Netanyahu also spreads misinformation and attacks independent media as fake news.

And like Trump, Netanyahu is under indictment. In the Israeli leader’s case, the charges include fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes. Like Trump, Netanyahu’s assault on the courts — following his return to power — is seen as an attempt to stay out of prison.

Some may think the end of democracy can’t happen here. But American democracy is in danger. In the book titled How Democracies Die, two Harvard professors show how attacks often come from within by elected officials who slowly chip away at democratic norms and institutions.

During his first term, Trump mounted a sustained assault on democracy, attacking the U.S. Justice Department, the FBI, the courts, the military, the intelligence community, the free press, and the electoral system before finally inciting a deadly insurrection in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

But Trump did not act alone. He had plenty of support from Republican officials and Fox News, which routinely spread misinformation and election lies, while often serving as an extension of GOP state media.

Trump, 77, is running for president again. Despite being impeached twice, indicted twice, and with two more indictments looming, he remains the front-runner to win the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.

Amazingly, polls indicate a possible rematch against President Joe Biden remains a toss-up. If Trump were to win, his plans to upend democracy could be more catastrophic than his last term.

Since Trump talks of committing crimes in broad daylight, he and his advisers have been open about their intentions of how a second term will essentially be a slow-moving autogolpe, or self-coup.

For starters, if elected, Trump could make his federal legal troubles go away by pardoning himself or appointing a subservient attorney general to drop the case. One of Trump’s plans, if elected, is to do away with the independence of the Justice Department and make it subservient to the president.

Trump intends to also eliminate the independence of government agencies that keep the air, water, food, drugs, and consumer products safe, as well as the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.

Trump plans to strip worker protections from thousands of career government employees to make it easier to replace them if they do not support his agenda. In particular, he plans to fire the so-called “deep staters” who work in the U.S. State Department, defense agencies, and intelligence services.

Trump also plans to renew his assault on NATO and may end support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

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A second Trump unbound presidency would be even more chaotic and damaging than his first term. But even more disturbing is how Republican leaders continue to stand by the disgraced former president, despite one judge already finding he likely committed crimes and a second judge ruling he raped a woman.

Several of Trump’s 2024 presidential rivals have pledged to pardon him, while House Speaker Kevin McCarthy accused the Biden administration — without any evidence — of trying to “weaponize government” to go after a political rival following reports that Trump would likely be indicted for his role in the insurrection. This is the same McCarthy who days after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol blamed Trump for inciting the riot.

The impending demise of Israel’s democracy is a stark reminder of what could happen here. In the end, it will be up to voters — mainly in a handful of states, including Pennsylvania — to determine if 2024 is the year American democracy is plunged into darkness.