If you want to understand the 2024 U.S. presidential election, look to 2016. Despite the attempted coup on January 6th, 2021 by then President Trump and his supporters, and his continued attempts to undermine US democracy, the rule of law, and elections, the former president remains the front runner for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2024.
One reason is that the institutions that can and should protect American democracy are again failing. Like the 2016 primaries, the Republican Party’s institutional standard bearers are running in a crowded field, providing Trump a clear path to the nomination. All the while, the Republican Party leaders that are tasked with stopping anti-democratic candidates from winning elections have denied the seriousness of January 6th and embraced authoritarianism and extremism.
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