Democracy Defenders Fund today released a series of essays (Autocracy vs. Democracy in America: A First Year Report) evaluating the Trump administration’s assault on our democracy and how the courts, institutions and civil society met the threats. Following are statements by Norm Eisen and Susan Corke reflecting on the first year of the Trump administration.

“Trump's assault on democracy over the past year is profound, but it is only half the story. Yes, the Trump administration has thumbed its nose at the Constitution, stretched executive power to the breaking point, and treated democratic norms like optional suggestions,” said Norm Eisen, executive chair and co-founder of Democracy Defenders Fund. “But through vast collective action in the court of law and in the court of public opinion by us and countless others, we are fiercely and successfully defending our democracy. Our new essays take a hard look at the pushback strategies that have succeeded and at what it will take to continue to check Trump’s executive overreach.”

“It’s telling that one year into Trump's second term the central question isn’t whether people’s lives are materially better (they are not)—it’s whether the president’s authoritarian ambitions have succeeded (they have done grave harm, but have not succeeded),” said Susan Corke, executive director of Democracy Defenders Fund. “The administration has lurched from one crisis to the next, using masked agents to violently attack immigrants and citizens in their communities, using a ‘wag the dog’ strategy of deadly provocations in international waters, racking up conflicts of interest, and abusing power on a breathtaking scale. The outrages and harms to Americans are so vast that they pile up and fade from the headlines, whether it’s the $400 million “gift” jet from Qatar, peddling a meme coin in exchange for dinner with the president, or demolishing the East Wing without getting approval from Congress. Amid the chaos, we were ready to fight the assault on our institutions and our laws on day one. The defining lesson of this first year is that our democracy has proven more resilient than many expected and that continued vigilance will be essential as we head into year two.”

Read Autocracy vs. Democracy in America: A First Year Report