A frequent criticism about President Trump is that his administration and the Republican Party are threatening democracy. The Administration has denied these accusations, but there are several instances where President Trump or his supporters have seemingly attempted to undermine democracy – specifically, through voting restrictions, gerrymandering, and the insurrection of January 6, 2021. 

President Trump signed an Executive Order in March 2025 branded as a way to prevent non-citizens from voting, which resulted in the disenfranchisement of 149 million citizens. The Executive Order makes a U.S. passport, an item many citizens do not own, the only valid piece of identification Americans can use to vote. Another block of 69 million women who do not have updated identification after changing their name due to marriage could also be prevented from voting, according to the Democratic Women’s Caucus. Impeding on voting rights based on gender was ruled unconstitutional after the Nineteenth Amendment in 1919.

A second claim from opponents of the Trump Administration is that he and his party improperly gerrymandered Texas’s congressional map, which would skew seats to the GOP in a crucial midterm election. Critics cite a 2025 U.S district court ruling in Texas, League of United Latin American Citizens v. Abbott, that Texas’s redistricting could not be used in the upcoming midterms because the map was unfairly sorted by race. Several courts have held that, under the Fourteenth Amendment, district lines may not be drawn based on racial characterization. The case eventually made it to the U.S Supreme Court where a majority of the Court overruled the lower court decision and gave Texas permission to use this new voting map for the 2026 election on the basis that the maps were redrawn on political not racial grounds  (according to ScoutUS Blog and the New York Times). Six out of nine current U.S. Supreme Court justices consistently  vote conservative, making any efforts by progressives to stop this apparent racial gerrymander ineffective. After Republicans were successful in Texas, two more Republican states – Missouri and North Carolina – redrew their congressional lines to try to favor the right for the midterms. With efforts to try to stop gerrymandering proving unsuccessful, the GOP will most likely gain seats in these states’ elections with few repercussions. At a Republican House policy retreat on January 6, 2026, Trump told Republican House members “you gotta win the midterms” and that if they do not “they’ll find a reason to impeach me,” which would be his third impeachment. Trump appears to understand he is in unfavorable standing with the growing portion of the general public and is pushing an agenda that some say is undemocratic.

The most significant moment in recent American history that directly challenged our democracy occurred on January 6, 2021. A vocal group of Republicans claimed the November 2020 election of Joe Biden was rigged, with no legitimate evidence backing it up. Trump’s supporters gathered at a rally in Washington D.C and it is at this rally where, as reported by the BBC and other major news outlets, Trump told his supporters to march on the Capitol while Congress was certifying Biden’s election. As the events unfolded, these rioters broke into the Capitol.  Many were arrested and charged with crimes, of which some were later convicted, including seditious conspiracy, entering a restricted building with a weapon, and assault. All of these actions could be seen as an attempt to unlawfully impede an election and directly challenge democracy in America, one of the biggest attempts to do so in American history. Trump later backed his supporters, and denied the allegations, blaming Capitol police and claiming the events were “peaceful” to begin with. This characterization is in sharp contrast to images of rioters bringing weapons into a government building where politicians from both parties were sheltering in place. Another piece of evidence counteracting this claim of “peace” was that a large number of insurrectionists were chanting “Hang Mike Pence,” Trump’s former Vice President, for refusing to overturn the fair election. Later in a culmination of insult to democracy Trump pardoned approximately 1,500 alleged insurrectionists with no repercussions. Trump defended a violent attack on this nation’s government, threatening political stability as we know it.  

In conclusion, Trump targets democracy by impinging on the rights of certain voters, gerrymandering, and allegedly inciting an attack on the country’s government. It is apparent Trump will not uphold core democratic pillars of our nation, yet he is still supported by millions of people, raising questions about how much our democracy can withstand.  Now is the time for intervention through voting, exercising First Amendment rights, and other democratic measures.