Democracy Under Strain: Reports Detail Erosion of U.S. Democratic Norms Under Trump

Recent reports from leading democratic research institutions raise concerns about the state of American democracy, citing a rapid decline in democratic standards under President Donald Trump. These assessments point to a concentration of executive power, attacks on the media, and disregard for established legal and democratic processes.

Decline in Global Democracy Rankings

The V-Dem Institute at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg released an annual report concluding that the U.S. Has experienced a significant deterioration in its democracy ranking, falling from 20th to 51st out of 179 countries. This places the U.S. Between Slovakia and Greece in terms of democratic quality.

Staffan Lindberg, the V-Dem Institute’s founding director, stated that the developments in the United States are “moving towards dictatorship,” and that the decline has been the most rapid in U.S. History. The report, based on data from over 4,000 scholars, highlights the Trump administration’s concentration of executive power, circumvention of Congress, and attacks on the press and freedom of speech as key factors in this decline.

U.S. System Approaching Dictatorship, Scholars Warn

Bright Line Watch, which surveys over 500 U.S. Scholars, has concluded that the U.S. System now falls nearly midway between liberal democracy and dictatorship. Co-directors John Carey and Brendan Nyhan noted that while the courts have occasionally pushed back against presidential overreach—such as the Supreme Court ruling on tariffs—the overall trend is concerning.

Carey emphasized the importance of independent institutions, stating that the tariff decision suggested Trump had “not fully captured that set of referees.” Nyhan added that the situation is not necessarily permanent, and the midterms and future elections could alter the trajectory.

Freedom House Report Highlights Declining Civil Liberties

A report from Freedom House, a Washington, D.C.-based democracy think-tank, found that the U.S. Experienced some of the largest declines in political rights and civil liberties among free countries last year, alongside Bulgaria and Italy.

Yana Gorokhovskaia, director for strategy and design for Freedom House, pointed to changes in the State Department’s approach to foreign elections, noting that under Trump, the U.S. Would only comment on foreign elections when it had a “clear and compelling interest.” This shift, she argues, has undermined “democratic solidarity globally.”

Trump’s Response and Comparisons to Other Leaders

President Trump has dismissed the criticism, with White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales calling the V-Dem analysis “a ridiculous claim made by an irrelevant, blatantly biased organization.” Wales asserted that Trump is a “champion for freedom and democracy.”

Trump himself has downplayed concerns about authoritarianism, stating, “A lot of people are saying maybe we like a dictator. I don’t like a dictator. I’m not a dictator.”

Lindberg drew parallels between Trump’s actions and those of other leaders accused of undermining democratic institutions, including Narendra Modi in India, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey, and Viktor Orbán in Hungary. Trump has publicly expressed admiration for Orbán, calling him a “strongman.”