Trump's Impact on US Democracy

Three major reports released this month reveal former President Donald Trump significantly damaged American democracy during his presidency, with one institute calling the speed of dismantling "unprecedented in modern history." The U.S. has consequently lost its status as a liberal democracy, plummeting in global rankings and seeing its freedom score drop to its lowest since 2002 due to expanded executive power and attacks on democratic norms.

Three major reports released this month indicate that former President Donald Trump has significantly damaged American democracy since his return to the White House.
An annual report from V-Dem, a Swedish institute, lowered the U.S. democracy ranking from 20th to 51st, citing a rapid decline. According to The Guardian, V-Dem's founder stated that the speed of dismantling US democracy is "unprecedented in modern history".
CNN reported that V-Dem's 2026 Democracy Report found the U.S. and 43 other countries are "autocratizing," with the U.S. losing its status as a liberal democracy.
Freedom House noted the U.S. among countries with the largest declines in political rights and civil liberties. Pakistan Today highlighted that Freedom House reported the US freedom score dropped to 81 out of 100, its lowest since 2002, due to Trump's expanded executive power.
The V-Dem report, titled "Unravelling the Democratic Era?", concludes that the U.S. has lost its long-term status as a liberal democracy for the first time in over half a century, now undergoing a rapid "autocratisation" process.
Freedom House's assessment, as reported by VOA, indicated that democracy in the U.S. has weakened significantly, attributing this to "ongoing attacks on the rule of law, fact-based journalism, and other principles and norms of democracy" by Donald Trump.