Blaming Donald Trump—a Dangerous Distraction?

In focusing on Trump’s shocking amorality we risk sliding over a painful truth we must embrace to create the democracy we need and want: His rise is a symptom.

Originally Published in Common Dreams, July 8th, 2025.

Americans are waking up to President Donald Trump’s assaults on our democracy. In just four years, his documented lies have topped 30,000.He has also broken laws, including his attempts to dismantle government agencies, his blatant conflicts of interest with Elon Musk, and his disregarding courts on a number of fronts. We honor those courageously stepping up to hold Trump accountable—from Indivisible to Common Cause to Democracy Forward, and many more citizen-organizing efforts.

Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

But our appropriate outrage might hide a danger—that in focusing on Trump’s shocking amorality we could slide over a painful truth we must embrace to create the democracy we need and want: His rise is a symptom. Donald Trump was able to triumph because of deep dysfunction long built into our governing structures. While we must resist his actions and work to limit the immediate damage, we must also commit to fighting for an even more democratic future, free of our current limitations.

Simply put, some features of our democracy are baked-in barriers to one-person-one-vote. The Senate, to name one. Wyoming, with a population of just over half a million has the same number of Senate seats as California, home to nearly 40 million. In other words, a voter in Wyoming has almost 68 times greater representation than a voter in much more densely populated California.

Our fight can’t merely be against Trump but in pursuit of a positive vision of an America where each of us counts, and we work together building the world we want.

And the challenges don’t stop there. Gerrymandering of electoral districts—the redrawing of district lines to favor the party in power—creates unrepresentative legislatures. As a result, one report found Republicans had an advantage of about 16 House seats in 2024’s congressional election. And then, there’s voter suppression as well as the hugely corrupting role of money in politics and the limits of our two-party system.

Despite being unfit, Trump rose to power in large measure because our antidemocratic rules have led to deep dissatisfaction with government that he was able to tap. Indeed, it’s been nearly four decades since 60% of us expressed satisfaction with “the way democracy was working.”

Since then, approval has tumbled steeply. By early 2023, just 28% of U.S. adults expressed satisfaction with how our democracy is working. And by early 2025 well more than half of Americans—61 percent—remained dissatisfied. 

And Americans’ view of our standing in the world?

Despite deep doubts about our democracy, interestingly, over half of us still see our country as one of the world’s greatest. One in five even place the us at the top, and only 27% acknowledge there are better democracies.

Hmm. Self-perception can be self-deception: In global comparisons we rate shockingly low. Each year, Freedom House, founded by Eleanor Roosevelt, ranks nations by the quality of their political rights and civil liberties—a reasonable measure of democracy.

Sadly, the U.S. ranks 57th worldwide, and not even in the ballpark of nations we imagine to be our peers. Almost all European Union nations rank in the top 25.

Really? That bad?

Yes. So, how do we explain the disconnect? And how might we use this bad news for good?

Domestically, we know that there are deep roots to dissatisfaction with our democracy. But it’s not just the structural features named above: At the same time, our extreme economic inequality—deeper than more than 100 nations—means economic stress for most Americans, even as we hold onto the myth that we’re a middle-class country.

Still, the myth of American exceptionalism blinds us.

Instead, let us heed this truth: Be it a rocky marriage or a sprained ankle, healing starts when we get honest with ourselves—when we stop averting our eyes, making excuses, or just hoping one day it will all go away.

Today, as our democracy is diminishing before our eyes; let’s drop these dangerous escapes and choose constructive action. The good news in our sad scores is proof of possibility—hard evidence that we can do better as we learn lessons from the leading democracies.

So, let our dissatisfaction fuel determination and bold action. Our fight can’t merely be against Trump but in pursuit of a positive vision of an America where each of us counts, and we work together building the world we want.

Democracy is not a dull duty but a thrilling vision and empowering action.