Donald Trump is one of the most controversial figures of modern times. The former US President and current Republican Party presidential candidate is well-known for his uncouth manners and speeches but also his much more insidious habit of electoral denialism, leading to the Capitol Riot on January 6th, 2021.
This was encapsulated in the motion for the first of the Debating Society’s regular show debates for this academic year: ‘This House Believes Donald Trump is a Threat to Democracy’.
Speaking in favour of the motion was recently-elected Liberal Democrat MP Rachel Gilmour and the Rt. Hon. Viscount Hanworth, a Labour peer and Emeritus Professor at the University of Leicester. Speaking against was businessman Sir Benjamin Slade and Greg Swenson, the Chair of Republicans Overseas UK.
The debate began first with a vote of conscience showing 68 per cent in favour of the motion, 15 per cent against and 17 per cent abstaining. It became clear early on that the opposition faced an uphill battle.
The opening speeches from both sides attempted to focus on the essence of democracy and Trump’s placement within that term. Gilmour focused on democracy in the form of the Western liberal tradition and Trump’s undermining of those related values, paying credence to Trump’s lack of explicit policies with much of the policy detail being outsourced to the conservative Heritage Foundation and their controversial ‘Project 2025’ proposal.
She called Project 2025 a “right-wing evangelical manifesto’ and labelled Trump’s version of democracy ‘exclusionary”, implying a lack of democracy in his governance. Hanworth carried on the proposition’s opening speeches by drawing on Abraham Lincoln’s famous quote that democracy is “the government of the people, by the people, for the people.” He also spoke of the US’s history of populism, first embodied by nineteenth-century president Andrew Jackson, an inspirational figure for Trump. To this, he added that populism “appeals to the grievances of ordinary people” and suggested that Donald Trump’s version of it does not meet this criteria.
The opposition speakers instead wished to prove that the idea of Trump as a threat to democracy was overblown. Slade claimed that Trump was a result of democracy in action and that his political career instead helped to rebut a “government of the establishment, by the establishment, for the people.” Swenson meanwhile took a different approach by dismissing criticisms of Trump’s attitude towards democracy on the grounds that he has already served as president for four years and that comments which reflected negatively on Trump’s character, such as promising a “bloodbath” and saying he would be a “dictator on day one”, were taken out of context.
He added that the Democrats “had to come up with something, so they came up with the democracy threat.” He also accused the Democratic Party of being a threat to democracy by allegedly enforcing bureaucratic laws which Congress did not pass, and for attempting to meddle with names on the ballot in the upcoming November Presidential election, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Attempting to focus the motion on the Democratic Party rather than Trump was a consistent theme in the opposition’s argument.
A few questions were asked by the audience at the debate, and they mainly – and perhaps unsurprisingly – came from the 68 per cent who believed Trump to be a democratic threat at the beginning of the debate. As such, they looked to the opposition speakers for answers. One audience member suggested that the Capitol riots proved Trump to be a threat to democracy.
Swenson suggested that “the Democrats wanted January 6th to happen” and that it was “the best day” for them. He also added that it was “inexcusable”. Meanwhile, Hanworth reiterated the seriousness of Trump’s alleged encouragement of the riots, and implied his continued support for violent political activity, including his recent and now infamous instruction to “Fight! Fight! Fight!” after his near-assassination earlier in the summer.
Another audience member pointed out that ‘Trump encouraging supporters to unfairly interfere with the electoral process’ could be seen as undemocratic, citing the idea that “only Republicans can count votes right.” Swenson again responded, this time suggesting that “electoral denialism is unpopular with voters.” He also stated his belief that the Democrats have encouraged the “greatest election interference of all time’ recently by ‘keeping Dean Phillips off the ballot” and “ensuring that Joe Biden would be the candidate,” which Swenson went on to claim “was not democratic.”
Another question from the audience asked the speakers for opinions on the idea that “Trump potentially winning shows strength of democracy” and highlights “weakness of the opposition.” Gilmour responded by suggesting that Democrat propaganda does not tell Americans not to vote for Trump. Swenson, who was more vocal than his debating partner, cited Harris’s lack of accessible policy until recently, as well as an alleged lack of interviews on her part.
Perhaps the most memorable part of the debate came when an audience member highlighted the fact that “the opposition [kept] talking about the Democrats being a threat to democracy, which [wasn’t] in the motion.” The audience reacted warmly to this suggestion while Swenson admitted to some level of ‘whataboutism’ in the discussion. Other key moments of the debate included Swenson’s retort to the discussion of mass shootings increasing under and after Trump’s presidency, which he called “trivial”, and Hanworth’s implication that Trump is “attempting to overthrow the constitution” as he suggested he would end elections if re-elected.
Slade, who spoke sparingly in the debate, maintained the opposition’s denial of this, asking, “how can he be [a threat to democracy] when the American constitution is so strong?” He continued, “let the people speak in November”, suggesting that the election results will speak for themselves.
The debate closed with an overwhelming majority agreeing that Trump is, in fact, a threat to democracy.
This was the first of regular debates in the academic year to feature guest speakers by the Debating Society. Felix Massey, Chairman of the Debating Society said of this event, “Debating Society is extremely proud to be leading the discussion on campus on a range of topical and controversial issues. The Trump debate was a big success and we hope many more people wil join us for our other vital debates going forwards, so make sure to stay tuned via our Instagram.
The next show debate will take place on Friday the 4th October. The motion is ‘This House Believes Social Media is a Force for Good’.
