Speaking to supporters in Iowa Monday afternoon just hours after a federal judge imposing a limited gag order on him, Donald Trump declared he is willing to go to jail to, he said, make America “a democracy again.”
Trump’s attorney in the case charging his with election fraud told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday their position on the gag order is that it is censorship. The judge disagreed. Trump has claimed it is a violation of his First Amendment rights, despite Judge Chutkan telling Trump’s attorney, “First Amendment protections yield to the administration of justice and to the protection of witnesses.”
Trump made his case to Iowa GOP voters, declaring Monday, “But what they don’t understand is I am willing to go to jail if that’s what it takes for our country to win and become a democracy again.” His supporters cheered (video below.)
Trump’s suggestion to Iowa voters was that because of President Biden, America is no longer a democracy, but numerous reports have warned that during Donald Trump’s presidency, democracy declined significantly.
In 2020 The Washington Post reported, “President Trump has done more to undermine American democracy than any chief executive in the modern era, according to data compiled by the Varieties of Democracy project, an ongoing effort to quantify the health of representative government around the world.”
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“His seemingly daily attacks on freedom of speech, the independence of the judiciary, the right to vote and other pillars of our constitutional system are bolstered by an intensely loyal fan base.”
Freedom House earlier this year stated, “The most recent edition of Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World report, released on March 3, found that the United States’ democracy score dropped by three points due to events in 2020, for a total decline of 11 points on a 100-point scale over the past decade. Key concerns highlighted in that report included mass arrests and violence against journalists at protests, the dismissal of inspectors general and other violations of norms meant to prevent abuse of office, lack of transparency and misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and former president Trump’s attempts to overturn the decision of American voters in one of the most secure elections in US history.”
The European think tank International IDEA labeled the U.S. a “backsliding democracy,” NPR reported, citing Trump’s election denialism and false allegations of fraud.
Watch Trump’s remarks below or at this link.