At the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, Elbridge Gerry, a delegate from Massachusetts, warned against too much democracy. The people, he stated, were “the dupes of pretended patriots” and were “daily misled into the most baneful measures and opinions by the false reports circulated by designing men.” Two hundred and thirty years later, Gerry’s concerns—which most of the framers shared—were vindicated: the American people elected a president who disdains basic tenets of democracy.

Democracy depends on norms, some written into the Constitution, others implicit in it. Donald Trump regularly disparages or repudiates at least ten of these norms: (1) an independent judiciary; (2) the freedom of the press; (3) the presence and function of independent actors within government; (4) the peaceful resolution of political disputes rather than the encouragement of violence; (5) the acknowledgment of the legitimacy of election results and recognition of the sanctity of the right to vote; (6) a refusal to threaten legal prosecution against political opponents; (7) the condemnation of brutal foreign dictators; (8) a respect for transparency within government; (9) a sharp separation between the private and public interests of governmental officials; and (10) at least a minimal commitment to the truth. These norms are essential to American democracy, yet Trump routinely violates them.

Trump has attacked sitting judges in a manner unique among American presidents. During the presidential campaign, he denounced Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who was then presiding over a lawsuit against Trump University for allegedly defrauding students. Trump called Curiel a “Mexican” and said that his actions were “a total disgrace.” (The judge, in fact, was born in the United States and has lived all of his life here; his parents were Mexican immigrants). After the election, Trump characterized Judge James Robart—the federal district judge, appointed by President George W. Bush, who invalidated Trump’s first executive order restricting immigration from several predominantly Muslim nations—as a “so-called” judge. He called the federal circuit court that affirmed Robart’s order “disgraceful.” Trump also urged supporters to blame the federal judiciary for the next domestic terrorist attack: “Because the ban was lifted by a judge, many very bad and dangerous people may be pouring into our country. . . . If something happens blame him and [the]court system.” While many past presidents have criticized particular judicial decisions—Roe v. Wade, for example—Trump directly assails the legitimacy of individual judges.

Trump’s statements also express disdain for the freedom of the press, which Thomas Jefferson called “one of the great bulwarks of liberty [that]can never be restrained but by a despotic government.” Since his election, Trump has castigated mainstream media for their “fake news.” He has also characterized reporters of the New York Times and other news organizations as the “enemy of the people.” The president has intimidated reporters he deems unfriendly by tweeting criticisms of them, calling for them to be fired, and inciting crowds to threaten violence against them. At one Trump rally, Secret Service agents had to escort NBC reporter Katy Tur to her car after Trump whipped up a crowd against her. After a Fox News commentator criticized Trump’s response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville in August 2017, she received hundreds of hostile emails calling for her to be fired and making death threats.

Trump also does not acknowledge the legitimacy of independent power sources within the government. As one of his first acts in office, Trump asked the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey, for his loyalty. The FBI director owes loyalty to the U.S. Constitution, not the president. Trump has ridiculed his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, for recusing himself from the Department of Justice’s investigation into allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, even though Session’s recusal was clearly mandated by the department’s internal rules of ethics. Trump has repeatedly threatened to fire special counsel Robert Mueller for conducting a “witch hunt” against him. ...