London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 21, 2025

Did Jan 6 kick-start the end of US democracy?

Did Jan 6 kick-start the end of US democracy?

The irrationality that now pervades the US political system is making sensible debate impossible and undermining its entire legitimacy, causing a number of commentators to voice their fears over where the country is headed.
In a book to be published next month, Barbara F Walter, a CIA strategic analyst and professor of political science at the University of California, argues that the United States is on the verge of civil war.

In ‘How Civil Wars Start’, Professor Walter states that “no one wants to believe that their beloved democracy is in decline, or headed towards war.”

Nevertheless, she believes that the 6 January Capitol riot was “a pre-cursor to civil war” and “the United States, a democracy founded more than two centuries ago, has entered very dangerous territory.”

Walter’s warning has been echoed by former Bill Clinton adviser and historian Sidney Blumenthal, who said this week that “Trump’s questioning of the election … has led to a genuine crisis of legitimacy.”

At the same time, three retired generals – Paul Eaton, Antonio Taguba and Steven Anderson – stated in an article in the Washington Post, “As we approach the first anniversary of the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol … we are concerned about the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election and the potential for lethal chaos inside our military, which would put all Americans at severe risk … in short, we are chilled to our bones at the thought of a coup succeeding next time.”

These views, disturbing as they are, cannot be easily dismissed. The evidence uncovered recently by the House Select Committee into the January 6 riot makes clear – even at this very early stage of its investigations – that President Trump engaged in an attempted political coup following his election loss in 2020.

Trump pressured Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the election result, and also pressured election officials to falsify results. The 38-page memo prepared by his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, comprises a detailed plan for a coup. And Steve Bannon has admitted he conspired with Trump on how to “kill the Biden presidency” prior to 6 January.

Even Donald Trump Jr. and a number of Fox News journalists urged Trump to condemn the riot, but he refused to do so.

Trump’s coup was only thwarted by the resolute actions of Pence, Attorney-General Bill Barr, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, upper-echelon members of the military, and numerous public officials.

Jonathan Karl’s recently published book ‘Betrayal – The Final Act of the Trump Show’ chronicles in dramatic detail the chaos and rank dishonesty that characterized the Trump White House in the aftermath of the lost election.

Karl concludes that “the continued survival of our republic may depend, in part, on the willingness of those who promoted Trump’s lies and those who remained silent to acknowledge they were wrong.”

Unfortunately, there is little sign of that happening at present – even those Republican politicians who despise Trump are unwilling to condemn him publicly, such is the power that he still wields within the party.

It is absolutely clear that Trump supporters – perhaps more than 70 million of them – still do not accept Biden’s election victory, and believe, despite a complete lack of evidence, that the election was “stolen.”

It is a fundamental tenet of liberal democracy that those citizens who support the losing party in an election nevertheless accept the legitimacy of the result. Democracy cannot function otherwise – yet Trump has overturned this basic political principle with apparent ease.

More troubling is the blatant irrationalism exhibited by many Trump supporters. The “stolen election” lie is frankly irrational, as is the refusal to acknowledge Trump’s egregious political duplicity. Karl has justifiably accused Trump of “waging a war on truth.”

More troublingly, this core irrationality makes sensible political debate in America simply impossible, and this fact also points to a crisis of legitimacy within the political system.

In his book ‘Legitimation Crisis’, published in 1973, the German sociologist and philosopher Jurgen Habermas analysed a trend that was emerging within Western democracies. His basic point was that all societies are obliged to legitimize their activities by means of ideologies, and that this was becoming increasingly difficult in the West.

Nevertheless, Habermas believed that human discourse – what he termed in the abstract “undistorted communication” – by definition, entailed objective notions of truth and rationality that placed limits on political activity.

Today, Habermas’ optimistic belief in a necessarily rational basis for politics seems quaint, if not downright quixotic. Contemporary American politics no longer obliges political leaders or parties to justify their policies and actions in rational terms.

That being the case, the fundamental distinction between liberal democracy and authoritarianism, in effect, no longer matters.

It is tolerably clear, then, that American liberal democracy is facing a serious crisis – but that should not come as a surprise.

As Barrington Moore, Jr. pointed out in ‘Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy’, published in 1966, liberal democracy is very much the exception, rather than the rule – and industrialization and capitalist economic development, even in the West, can just as easily take place under authoritarian political regimes.

Nazi Germany and pre-World War Two Japan are two examples, and France between the wars could easily have gone the same way.

Nor should it be forgotten that 19th-century liberalism itself was opposed to and fearful of democracy. Even a cursory reading of Alexis de Tocqueville and John Stuart Mill makes this clear – and liberal democracy emerged only fitfully in response to the mass working-class political movements of the late 19th century.

The American founding fathers themselves were, for the most part, reluctant and uneasy democrats. John Adams, for example, was particularly fearful of the ignorance of the masses, saying, “Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right and a desire to know.”

In a nation in which millions of voters still believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen, and implicitly condone Trump’s attempted post-election coup – and in which almost all Republican politicians remain cravenly silent on these issues – how can democracy survive?

The complete collapse of American democracy – if it occurs – would obviously have dramatic geopolitical and ideological consequences globally. One very real danger is the possibility that the political leadership of a crisis-ridden United States would seriously contemplate provoking a war with China or Russia in order to “solve” America’s internal problems.

As Barrington Moore, Jr. correctly pointed out – he was writing at the height of the Vietnam War – the primary dynamic of all authoritarian political regimes is “repression at home and aggression abroad.”

Can anyone doubt that Trump would hesitate for one moment to provoke a war over Taiwan or Ukraine in order to attain or hold on to power? In fact, any American leader faced with a serious political crisis of the kind that has recently emerged would be tempted to do the same.

Such a war, of course, would inevitably involve the use of nuclear weapons, and completely destroy the Cold War consensus and peace that has remained in place since the end of World War II.

The complete collapse of American liberal democracy may have very serious consequences indeed – and not just for the United States.
Comments

ME 4 year ago
The coup was done by the fascists that took over the government claiming victory in November 2020. As the facts come out more and more people will see what really happened. This book is propaganda written by the perpetrators of the coup.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
×