When Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and halted the Electoral College certification, European leaders decried the violence as “horrible” and “disgraceful,” and called on the president to allow the peaceful transfer of power. Meanwhile, China, Russia, Venezuela, and Iran issued swift condemnations with not-so-subtle jabs at the legitimacy of Western democratic values. In the wake of this, can America remain the world’s model for democracy? Have months of strife around the election results and ensuing political violence destroyed America’s credibility and ensured it will no longer inspire the oppressed or legitimately condemn authoritarians? Or have the nation’s institutions held under pressure and demonstrated democracy’s strength and resilience in politically polarized times?
This episode of Agree to Disagree features Kori Schake, director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and Brian Klass, American political scientist and columnist at The Washington Post.
