After a 597-day election with 18 opponents and 14 televised debates, on Friday, January 20, on the steps of the Capitol, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States of America. Many Americans fear that he will undermine democracy through democratic means. After all, as a candidate, he declared that elections were rigged, politicians corrupt, judges unfair and journalists dishonest. His list of those who he distains is long. Now, as president, he’ll have his own chance to shape American democracy.
To understand what Trump might do, we should not look at him but at the country he’ll rule. Trump’s formula for success consisted of sensing the popular mood and exploiting it for his own purposes. According to the Gallup polling company, 91 percent of Americans don’t trust the government; 80 percent feel the same way about the media and 73 percent about the courts. Mr. Trump isn’t the cause of this, however – he’s the result. It’s why he won.
Understanding this mistrust – its roots, its justifications, and whether Trump could use it to gut the institutions of democracy – requires a closer look at the country. Let’s start in the southeast, in North Carolina.
Demographically, to some extent, North Carolina could stand in for the U.
