Is Donald Trump precipitating a crisis of American democracy?
For some the answer is an emphatic “yes”. Trump’s disregard for the institutions and political norms of U.S. democracy is imperiling the Republic. The sooner his presidency collapses the sooner the healing can begin and the ship of state righted.
For others Trump is not the villain in this drama. Rather, his young presidency is the conduit, not the cause, of Americans’ deep-seated anger towards a privileged and self-dealing Washington elite. Trump’s disruption of politics as usual is what America needs to start the process of restoring democracy by the people, for the people.
Is Trump the cause or the symptom: that is the topic of today's semi-annual Munk Debates, which start at 7pm ET in Toronto, and where arguing for the resolution will be senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and syndicated columnist with The Washington Post, E.J. Dionne, Jr. He will be joined by Andrew Sullivan, New York magazine editor and blogger.
Speaking against the resolution will be former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich as well as Kimberley Strassel, senior editorial writer and member of the editorial board for the Wall Street Journal.
Rudyard Griffiths, director and moderator of the Munk Debates, says: “The future and fate of American democracy concerns everyone. This debate promises to bring into sharp contrast the critical issues driving a tumultuous moment in American politics."
The Autumn 2017 Munk Debate will move the motion: be it resolved, American democracy is in its worst crisis in a generation and Donald J. Trump is to blame...
The Munk Debates are Canada’s preeminent forum for leading thinkers to discuss the pressing issues of our time. Two debates are held each year in Toronto, one in the spring and one in the autumn. Previous Munk Debate participants include former British prime minister Tony Blair, Henry Kissinger, Christopher Hitchens, Samantha Power, Paul Krugman, Fareed Zakaria, Dambisa Moyo, Mia Farrow, Malcolm Gladwell, Nigel Farage, Simon Schama, Louse Arbour and Glenn Greenwald.
Watch the debate live below (link).
http://livestream.com/accounts/1928583/events/7770886/player