In 2016, former President Barack Obama’s speech at the White House correspondents dinner was lighthearted and even ended with a mic drop. Almost nine years later, in his farewell address, former President Joe Biden’s tone was a tad darker. It felt like we were living in a movie.
Biden left us with a warning: that we are transitioning into an oligarchy.
An oligarchy is a type of government that is run by the “elite” for selfish reasons that often lead to corruption.
It’s been a week since President Donald Trump was sworn in for a second time and every day we’re getting more proof that what Biden was saying was true.
To some, the warning was just a reminder. Last year, a Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service Battleground Civility Poll showed that 81% of voters worried that their democracy was threatened.
To others, it was a wake-up call. Some even acknowledge that they regret their choice in November. Unfortunately, they can’t go back and change their vote.
But frankly, this shouldn’t be surprising to anyone.
In a democracy, the power is given to the people. It’s what got Trump elected. But now, instead of listening to the people, he’s filling the executive branch with MAGA loyalists. He is prioritizing billionaires and elites. It was clear during his inauguration when his cabinet was seated behind America’s wealthiest.
The real people in control are figures like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and other tech moguls.
Musk made a gesture eerily similar to a Nazi salute and was blasted on social media for it. Then, he made even more offensive jokes on X. Yet, instead of Trump speaking out about his head of the Department of Government Efficiency being anti-semitic, he stayed silent. The silence was loud, as it showed who was prioritized now — the rich.
Signs of democracy backsliding have been in the public, even before Trump announced running for a second term. Suzanne Mettler of Cornell University and Robert Lieberman of Johns Hopkins University said that the four factors that contribute to it are “polarization, conflicts over belonging, economic inequality and executive aggrandizement,” per ScienceNews.
Trump has claimed that he’s going after the “radical left,” further polarizing the country ideologically. He has constantly made nonpartisan things partisan, such as claiming any outlet that disagrees with him is “liberal media.”
He may not have come out with a blatantly announced plan for complete control, but he’s pulling the strings from behind the curtain of those who are promoting it, and he’s not correcting their behavior.
Any president who actually cares about the constitutionality of the country would have publicly condemned the notion that he should have absolute power, or that he should be allowed to run again after this term.
However, the president was silent when Andy Ogles proposed amending the 22nd Amendment, which established term limits, to allow Trump to run a third time.
We are starting on the path of dictatorship as well. On one of his first days in office, he got rid of federal DEI programs. The “D” in DEI stands for diversity. Diverse is synonymous with different and multiple. But why is it that “differences” are so evil to Trump and MAGA? Because they oppose certain points of view and biases?
If Trump wants to get rid of everything “different” that Trump doesn’t agree with, then we are going to be in the same censored, and one-sided problem that governments like Russia are currently in. We’re going to be completely unaware and ignorant of problems. Just because we ignore them, doesn’t mean they go away, it’ll only make it worse and more people will suffer because of it.
We don’t know where our country is headed, but our democracy is slipping away. The wealthiest, most out-of-touch people have the ear of those who make our laws and lifestyles.
