Episode 02: Democracy on the Brink

In this episode of Surviving Trump, we dive into the core question: What’s at stake? The answer is simple—our democracy. Since returning to office, Trump has unleashed a torrent of executive actions and policies—over 60 already—that directly threaten the pillars of democratic governance.

We explore the first two pillars of democracy under siege:

• Free and Fair Elections – The alarming efforts to manipulate the voting process and undermine election integrity.
• The Rule of Law – Trump's push to expand executive power unchecked, ignoring constitutional safeguards and eroding accountability.
• Political experts warn that we are in a clear and present danger moment—action is required now.

Pushback from Legal Experts & Democrats:

• State attorneys general and civil rights groups are filing lawsuits.
• The courts are challenging some executive orders, but rulings take time.
• Republican silence is enabling Trump’s overreach.

The Blue Choir Speaks: Which Pillar Matters Most?

• Many panelists agreed that Rule of Law is the most critical pillar—if it collapses, all others are at risk.
• Key quotes:
  • “If Trump positions himself as above the law, the rest will crumble.”
  • “Checks and balances mean nothing if the rule of law isn’t enforced.”
  • “It’s impossible to focus on just one threat—he throws so much at us that it’s overwhelming.”

Next Episodes 

• Episode 3
  • We’ll explore two critical pillars: Checks and Balances – How Trump is bypassing safeguards meant to limit presidential power. And, Freedom of Speech & Press – How he’s controlling the narrative and silencing critics.
• Episode 4
  • The growing power of Christian nationalism, aims to blur the lines between church and state. We’ll also explore Trump’s aggressive changes to education policy—shaping what children learn, who controls the curriculum, and how these shifts could erode democracy for generations to come.

Transcript

Bella Goode  00:00

Hello everyone, and welcome to Surviving Trump. I'm Bella Goode and today we're delving into the pressing issue of how President Trump's mind blowing fire hose of actions are challenging the pillars of our democracy. 

Since his return to office in January, Trump. I just call him Trump. I can't bear to acknowledge his title. I can't even say the word, but anyway, Trump has spewed out a series of policies and executive orders at this point, well over 60, that have profound implications on our nation's democratic framework. And these moves aren't just political maneuvers. They represent significant shifts that could alter the landscape of our governance. It's like a futuristic movie or a computer game. It feels like Armageddon.

I'm going to repeat this again and again, probably every episode. Democracy matters because it gives us a voice. It protects our freedoms, it keeps power in check. It's not perfect. It can be slow and messy, but that's because it's built on debate and fairness. If we take it for granted, we risk losing it to authoritarian rule where power goes unchecked. 

History shows that once democracy is lost, it's much harder to get back, and that's why we must defend it. Unfortunately, many people, experts, politicians, common folk like you, me, we're starting to see and we're starting to witness the backsliding of democracy, and it's pretty frightening. Here's a quote from Norman Ornstein in The Contrarian, the newsletter. 

He talks about just how dire the situation is. "We cannot afford to wait any longer the immediate, clear and present danger to the fabric of our democracy, the headlong rush into a police state, it cannot be ignored, and unprecedented times demand unprecedented approaches by Democrats in Congress, minority status or not." Whew, that's a wake up call. So that's what my next several episodes address. It also is the starting point for the next four years and beyond. It's what's at stake. We need to be informed. 

Don't wake up in four years to discover that your freedoms have been taken. The more engaged you are, the harder you will fight to hold on to them, and not just for you, but for the sake of our children, for our loved ones now and for generations to come. When I talk about The Pillars of Democracy, well, what do I actually mean? Well, The Pillars are deeply rooted in the Constitution, but they also draw from broader values and principles that have evolved over time through laws, court decisions, what you might call common practice. 

So I think of The Pillars of Democracy as kind of a current version of the Constitution and certainly something to live by and to abide by. In the meantime, here's what I'm going to be talking about over the next couple of episodes. My focus is going to be on The 10 Pillars of Democracy currently under threat. What are the specific actions being taken by Trump and its administration, actions that make it feel like The Pillars are being dismantled before our eyes. What are the broader implications of for our democratic system? And I also touch upon remedies, but this is a huge topic deserving several episodes of focus that will come later on. 

Before I dive in, I want to refresh your memory about The Blue Choir each week, I tap into a rotating panel of everyday people who care about saving democracy. They come from my network, their networks and beyond, they're engaged and they're passionate about our country, and they have something to say. I call them The Blue Choir. I like to take their pulse each week, to get their opinions and comments, and then I weave the responses into the episodes. It just adds another dimension to our discussion. 

My question to them this week was actually, it actually was two questions, which pillar of democracy do you value and cherish the most? That was one. And then the second one was, which pillar of democracy scares the shit outta ya? Which pillar of democracy concerns you the most giving Trump's actions and threats? So let's get started with Pillar Talk. 

Huh? Let me digress for one minute. It was a movie that was actually called Pillow Talk, a comedy made in 1959 starring Rock Hudson, Doris Day and Tony Curtis. Of course, I don't remember any of those people, but I read about it anyway. Pillow Talk was very it was a very funny movie, my version called Pillar Talk. Not so funny, not so much. 

So anyway, today we're going to address the first two pillars. One is Free and Fair Elections, and the second pillar is The Rule of Law. So let's get started with the first one. A key part of our democracy is ensuring free and fair elections, but recent moves by the administration raised serious concerns about the integrity of our voting system. Under Trump and his allies, there are at least three major threats to democracy and voting rights. 

The first one is census manipulation. Trump is expected to push for his citizenship question on the 2030 census. This would likely lead to an undercount of immigrant communities, especially Latin and Asian populations, resulting in an unconstitutional and lasting damage to the political representation, federal funding and districting. 

Let me know if you want me to repeat anything. I know it's a lot, and I know I'm going a little bit fast, but I can repeat anything that I've just said. And there's also the transcript that you can read. The second threat is attacks on the election system. Trump is likely to misuse executive power to pressure voters and Election Officials setting the stage for challenging election results. 

Of course , we know that he's done that before. He's used all sorts of tactics before, like he uses sham commissions to push voter fraud narratives. He uses mass voter roll purges, using unreliable data to remove eligible voters. He uses baseless criminal investigations targeting election officials and voters, particularly in communities of color. He uses federal law enforcement intimidation at polling places, potentially deploying officers or encouraging state led actions to suppress voter participation. 

The thing that concerns me is that not only did he do this in the 2020 election and the 2024 election, but he is likely to just get worse in terms of his tactics. So that's very concerning. And the third threat is in terms of rolling back Federal Voting protections. A second Trump administration is expected to undo efforts to expand voting access. This includes revoking Biden's executive order that promoted voter education, language access and disability accommodations. The Justice Department may also stop enforcing key Federal Voting rights and protections. So that's all pretty scary. 

These charges will make voting that much harder, especially for marginalized communities. In turn, it will weaken democracy. Oh, just on a related note, I'm stepping back for a second. You know, Trump made a very strange comment while campaigning in Florida last year, he was speaking to a Christian audience, and he said, 

"Christians, get out and vote just this time. You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, and you know what? It will be fixed. It will be fine. You won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians." 

Well, what the hell did he mean by that? It sounds like a promise to fix the system in a way that would make voting unnecessary, at least for his supporters, whether it was just talk or something more serious, it fits his pattern of undermining elections, and it's very scary. Bottom line, these actions will erode trust in the voting process and make elections less fair in the future, and that is a problem. So now let's move on to look at the second pillar, The Rule of Law. 

The problem? Well, he's overstepping executive authority, and he's out of bounds with no guardrails. The Rule of Law ensures that no one, not even the president, is above it, but recent executive actions indicate a growing concentration of power in the executive branch. Donald Trump has a slew somewhere around 60 to 70 so far, executive orders expanding his authority, sparking legal battles and fears of democratic backsliding. 

His actions include firing federal watchdogs attempting to revoke birthright citizenship and granting mass pardons to January 6 insurrectionists, while Democrats and legal experts call it an unprecedented power grab, congressional Republicans have largely wimped out. They're remaining silent. It is driving me crazy. Courts are pushing back, but Trump's approach seems aimed at testing the legal limits, potentially leading to the Supreme Court rulings that could reshape executive power, or it could be a huge standoff, but in any case, it is going to be a nail biting period of time. 

Trump's executive actions are widely seen as efforts to centralize authority, to sidestep traditional checks and balances and to push the limits of executive power. And here's just a few examples. You remember he fired the Inspectors General 17 watch agency Watch Dogs were abruptly removed without the required 30 day congressional notice. So that's definitely overstepping his bounds. Then there was the attack on birthright citizenship. Trump attempted to revoke birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants, violating the 14th Amendment. 

Of course, he's done other things. Oh, the big one. Is the mass pardons for January 6 insurrectionists. Over 1500 people convicted for the roles in the capitol Riot were pardoned. I thought I was going to pull my hair out. I just couldn't believe he had gone that far. Another thing he did he was he has been blocking the 3 trillion in federal funds. Courts have intervened after the White House tried to withhold funding from various programs, and that scenario and saga continues. Then there's the retaliation against justice officials, senior prosecutors involved in Trump related cases, i.e. January 6, have been dismissed, or they've resigned. 

So here are some of the ways that Democrats are pushing back challenging Trump's overreach. We have state attorneys general and civil rights groups that have filed lawsuits with some of Trump's actions already being blocked by federal judges. That, again, is an ongoing drama. The fired Inspectors General are preparing legal action. The labor unions and Senate Democrats are opposing measures that have weakened government oversight and accountability. So I would expect more of these type of actions to continue, and it will be very interesting to see what happens with the courts and ultimately the Supreme Court. 

So Trump's largest donor, Elon Musk, of course, has led aggressive cost cutting efforts at the newly created- quite frankly, I call it DOG but it's DOGE, Department of Government Efficiency, so much easier just to say dog- anyway, raising concerns about the impacts on federal agencies like USAID and Treasury operations. However, most congressional Republicans have remained silent or offered mild criticism. Some GOP lawmakers like Senator Chuck Grassley- Grassley have pushed back on Trump's mass firings. Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren, are actively protesting and filing lawsuits. So there's a lot of activities around these executive orders, and the fact remains that there's a lot of them, and there's a lot of action to keep up with, and a lot of decisions that are going that are still out there and being weighed. 

But in general, here are the concerns that legal experts at least have. Analysts believe that Trump is deliberately provoking legal battles to test his executive limits with the Supreme Court potentially expanding presidential power. And that would be, I don't know that might be the end, but Critics also argue that Trump's orders aim to consolidate power, silence opposition, and strengthen executive control. We can only hope that the legal battles and the bureaucratic resistance may slow his efforts. 

I was curious how the panel, in this case, The Blue Choir, would respond to my questions this week, would pillar one or two be either of the most cherished or the most concerning to them in terms of being at risk? Most everyone said it was difficult to prioritize. All the pillars are important, and they're all under fire, but forced to make selections. No one chose Free and Fair Elections, which is kind of interesting, but I did force the issue. I did force them to choose one. However, a significant number chose Rule of Law, which was the second one. 

Number two, The Rule of Law. The American Bar Association summarizes this pillar and what it means to me. It's a set of principles or ideals for ensuring an orderly and just society. Many countries throughout the world strive to uphold The Rule of Law. Where no one is above the law, everyone is treated equally under the law. Everyone is held accountable to some laws, the same laws, there are clear and fairer processes for enforcing laws, and there is an independent judiciary, and human rights are guaranteed for all. 

So that's a good that's a very good description, but Art continues to say, "my sense is that citizens assume and expect that the rule of law is being consistently adhered to throughout our nation, and that any infractions are dealt with by the appropriate agents of our government who are charged with overseeing and enforcing a rule of law. There are always exceptions to this pillar, but generally it's being followed and enforced. January 6, of course, was a horrific event, and the way it was dealt with afterwards, I thought it was dealt fine, but not the fact that they all got pardoned. That was absolutely shameful." 

So another comment from Sandy, "One that concerns me most is pillar number two, the rule of law. I believe that if Trump continues to position himself as above the law, the rest will crumble. He will be able to control elections. There will be no checks and balances. Forget freedom of speech and the rest. Unfortunately, he's showing us exactly how to go about it." 

That's another scary thought, and Diane "Rule of law concerns me the most. Trump is responsible for trying to bypass the. House, the Senate and the Supreme Court in making decisions and rules that bypass the Constitution, the Republican House, Senate, courts, as well as Republican supporters, are allowing this to happen." It is totally frightening, and then from Rich and Ron, both of them basically said the same thing. 

"I view the rule of law and number eight, which is politicized military and law enforcement pretty much the same as it relates to our Department of Justice. It's also the one that I cherish the most, and the one that is most threatening by the maniac." 

Rich says that "The Rule of Law, if we don't have that, then number eight, which is politicizing the military and law enforcement, is going to be a real problem." 

And then another comment here from Bob, "I cherish The Rule of Law the most, and I am most concerned about pillar three, checks and balances," which we will address next week, "having made my choices, I'm truly concerned about them all, which I think is the point. He throws so much shit out there that no one can actually focus on anything." 

And then finally, from Debbie, "Though all the pillars are critical, my top two would be The Rule of Law and Free and Fair Elections," exactly what we just discussed today, "without these two, the others are not protected." 

And that brings us to the end of this week's episode. We're going to continue this discussion of The Pillars of Democracy next week, when we cover two more pillars, one is Checks and Balances: The Power Grab, and The other one is Freedom of Speech and Press: Controlling The Narrative. Okay? And until then, I have two requests that I always make of you. Please leave a comment. The transcript for today's episode is available along with references and links. Start a discussion, ask questions, challenge ideas, and this is our community. 

The second request is, leave a review. If this podcast resonates with you, let me know. If it doesn't, tell me that too, I want to get it right, and should I keep going? Should I tweak the approach? Your honesty is invaluable, and do follow me on Blue Sky @SurvivingTrump. And on that note, I'm going to leave you with some Borowitz humor, which I usually do at the end of each episode. 

This time it is about Elon. Let's see Elon Musk's department of government efficiency, or DOG, as I call it, has eliminated the position of Vice President of the United States. Musk announced on Monday, "The job of the VP is to fill in for the President if he falls ill. This seemed unnecessary, since I'm in superb health." Musk added that he was inspired to cut the VP position because JD Vance hasn't been seen in weeks, and no one's missed him. According to sources within DOG, Vance will immediately be reassigned as a used Tesla salesman. 

Until next time, say- stay engaged, stay informed, and most importantly, stay in the fight. This is Bella Goode signing off until next time.