I've been in many countries that look more peaceful, more relaxed and more democratic overall than the US today.
I will describe in a few words what the President looks like in a normal, mature, democratic country.
The President is a rather experienced politician, therefore older in general. He/she doesn't swear and never uses foul language in public. Because he always has in mind that he has to preserve the dignity of the office (which rests on his/her own personal credibility).
He/she doesn't run a business empire while in office.
He's not at the center of sex scandals, or the likelihood that he/she will have to step down is very high.
If she/he doesn't behave, the people go to the streets and show him/her the door (example: South Korea).
He/she speaks in a conciliatory tone and refrains from making inflammatory statements. His/her job is to mend bridges, not to polarize the public debate. He/she sticks to the mission.
He/she doesn't spend the whole day posting worthless comments about anything and everything on Twitter. Instead, he/she speaks only in designated circumstances, or when he/she has something worthy to say. People listen.
For all those reasons, he/she is usually respected by the vast majority of the population, even those who don't agree with his/her ideas.
In a normal, democratic country,
press freedom is sacrosanct and attacks on the press, even veiled ones, are not well received at all. The President has to answer questions from critical journalists, and is always subject to scrutiny by press groups or independent bodies, some of which might be mildly hostile or at least not aligned with the establishment. Nonetheless, he/she has to remain polite at all times, be smiling and convincing, and tolerate the opposition. Misogynistic comments, racist slur, hate speech or personal attacks would cause an uproar and possibly a constitutional crisis. Downplaying opponents as traitors is not something that would get sympathy from the public.
Clearly, the US today is moving toward the Russian model. In a pseudo-democracy like Russia, enforcement of human rights is poor, the rule of law does not apply to all, journalists are dying by the dozens and the free press is virtually eliminated.
The executive branch is all powerful in the absence of proper checks and balances. There is contempt for human rights and the Constitution.
We now have an oligarch in charge but we are being told conflicts of interests will be sorted out somehow. I'd like to see that
What the President elect might do or not do in the near future is one thing, but we can have an opinion based on what we've already seen and witnessed, and it's not too promising. I'd like to be proven wrong but it's unlikely to happen.
