![Last Exit](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/4302/539379/5f8f976783c2b/Donald-Trump-Joe-Biden-Kamala-Harris-American-Democracy.jpg)
The most important ballot question in 2020 is not Joe Biden versus Donald Trump, or Democrat versus Republican. The most important question is: Will Trump get away with his corruption—will his crooked and authoritarian tactics succeed?
If the answer is yes, be ready for more. Much more.
Americans have lavished enormous powers on the presidency. They have also sought to bind those powers by law. Yet the Founders of the republic understood that law alone could never eliminate the risks inherent in the power of the presidency. They worried ceaselessly about the prospect of a truly bad man in the office— a Caesar or a Cromwell, as Alexander Hamilton fretted in “Federalist No. 21.” They built restraints: a complicated system for choosing the president, a Congress to constrain him, impeachment to remove him. Their solutions worked for two and a half centuries. In our time, the system failed.
Through the Trump years, institutions have failed again and again to check corruption, abuse of power, and even pro-Trump violence.
As Trump took office, I published a cover story in this magazine, arguing that his presidency could put the United States on the road to autocracy. “By all early indications,” I wrote, “the Trump presidency will corrode public integrity and the rule of law— and also do untold damage to American global leadership, the Western alliance, and democratic norms around the world. The damage has already begun, and it will not be soon or easily undone. Yet exactly how much damage is allowed to be done is an open question.”
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 2020-Ausgabe von The Atlantic.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November 2020-Ausgabe von The Atlantic.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
![THE GLACIER RESCUE PROJECT](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/8tMX-T8vo1718714248505/THE-GLACIER-RESCUE-PROJECT.jpg)
THE GLACIER RESCUE PROJECT
Can the mighty Thwaites be stopped from tumbling into the sea?
![A Novel Without Characters](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/4yPEWYBVB1718716977007/A-NOVEL-WITHOUT-CHARACTERS.jpg)
A Novel Without Characters
Rachel Cusks lonely experiment
![The Industry That Ate America](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/2XLU552I51718716749037/THE-INDUSTRY-THAT-ATE-AMERICA.jpg)
The Industry That Ate America
The long and lurid history of lobbying
![Kafka's Not Supposed to Make Sense](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/5pD5nGdOu1718716456861/KAFKAS-NOT-SUPPOSED-TO-MAKE-SENSE.jpg)
Kafka's Not Supposed to Make Sense
“The incomprehensible,” he explained, “is incomprehensible.”
![Tornado Watch](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/O-l5i_K_J1718716111951/TORNADO-WATCH.jpg)
Tornado Watch
How Lee Isaac Chung reimagined Twister, one of the biggest climate-disaster thrillers of all time
![Too Cute to Fail](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/jXiIWXkLE1718715373348/TOO-CUTE-TO-FAIL.jpg)
Too Cute to Fail
Koalas are threatened by climate change, cars, and chlamydia. Can Australia find a way to protect its most beloved animal?
![THE FIRST THREE MONTHS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/_wh3lp8HM1718713159859/THE-FIRST-THREE-MONTHS.jpg)
THE FIRST THREE MONTHS
What I saw inside the government’s response to COVID-19
![THE VALLEY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/BSZgiac3f1718712455227/THE-VALLEY.jpg)
THE VALLEY
Searching for the future in the most American city
![THE AIRPORT-LOUNGE ARMS RACE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1705472/4GLuV90RJ1716814207720/THE-AIRPORTLOUNGE-ARMS-RACE.jpg)
THE AIRPORT-LOUNGE ARMS RACE
Inside the ever more extravagant competition to lure affluent travelers
![Hypochondria Never Dies](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1705472/18KmE7vNN1716814038369/HYPOCHONDRIA-NEVER-DIES.jpg)
Hypochondria Never Dies
The diagnosis is officially gone, but health anxiety is everywhere.