The Atlantic seems to be publishing analysis of whether guardrails can hold a bus that already left the road. It’s disappointing, far below the pedigree and reputation of the brand.
A new article, as a shining example, claims Trump can be constrained and applies no standard of evidence for what constitutes a “check” on authoritarian power. Protests count as wins, always, regardless of any outcome; regardless of more and more people being murdered. Court rulings are being counted, regardless of enforcement. Rhetoric counts apparently, regardless of effect. The article’s analytical framework cannot distinguish between resistance, and the sheer performance of resistance.
This is no way to run a magazine.
The article also buries the actual question in order to avoid establishing something predictable, measurable: will 2026 elections be conducted fairly and results honored? That’s the real test. If elections are compromised, every other claimed “win” is meaningless. Yet this article seems to want us to focus on anything but that, distracting us from what really matters.
When you run through all the article’s failures, it appears only to be left with reassurance content for readers to believe (falsely) that self-correcting systems still exist. This is unsupported by its own evidence, which tells me this is an article for people who can’t face the truth. Framing being offered serves only psychological comfort, avoiding or even preventing analytical clarity.
Assessment of “Trump’s Attack on Democracy Is Faltering” (The Atlantic, January 20, 2026)
| Claim | Assessment | Result |
|---|---|---|
| District judges “throw up roadblocks” | District rulings are preliminary and appealable. The article admits Supreme Court is “rubber-stamping” administration actions except for one National Guard ruling. A roadblock that gets removed by higher courts is not a check on power. | FAIL |
| Trump’s popularity “has vanished” | Approval ratings do not constrain executive power when enforcement mechanisms, courts, and military remain cooperative. Orbán, Erdoğan, and other contemporary authoritarians have survived popularity fluctuations because they control institutions. Poll numbers are not a governing constraint. | FAIL |
| Record protests counter authoritarianism | Article provides zero evidence protests changed any policy, reversed any action, or prevented any operation. Venezuela invasion proceeded. Deportations continued. Military parade happened. Protests without policy consequences are not checks on power. | FAIL |
| Citizens “defending neighbors” from ICE | One quote from one man in Minneapolis is anecdotal. ICE agents killed at least nine including Renee Nicole Good; administration claimed “absolute immunity.” Individual acts of bravery do not constitute systemic resistance when enforcement grows in lethality and at scale. | FAIL |
| Opposition politicians “taking forceful stands” | Pritzker and Newsom cited. No evidence provided of any federal action stopped, reversed, or constrained by their stands. Rhetoric without corresponding power is air, not resistance. | FAIL |
| Jimmy Kimmel reinstatement shows pushback works | A comedian was asked to tell more jokes, after subscription cancellations. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr remains in position. Regulatory capture of broadcast licensing intact. The exception proves the rule: this is the article’s one reversal and therefore a “win”. Yet Colbert still was cancelled. And 60 Minutes was internally censored. | EMBARRASSING |
| Sloppy prosecutions dismissed | Comey and Letitia James cases thrown out for procedural failures. DOJ can refile with better paperwork. Chilling effect already achieved: potential dissidents saw the prosecutions filed. Convictions not required for political intimidation to work. | FAIL |
| “Haphazardism” undermines authoritarian project | Incompetent authoritarianism still destroys institutions. Purged civil servants do not return because DOGE was sloppy. Dismantled agencies do not reassemble. Oversight mechanisms do not reconstitute. Execution quality is irrelevant to demolition outcomes. | DANGEROUS FRAMING |
| Record nomination withdrawals show Senate resistance | Basic vote-counting, not institutional resistance. Trump calibrated to what Senate would confirm. Positions still filled with loyalists. Withdrawing unconfirmable nominees is tactical adjustment, not systemic check. | FAIL |
| Congress rejected “devastating cuts” | Article does not specify cuts rejected or which were restored. DOGE wiped out authority. “Failed to maintain” is not evidence of “reversed.” No evidence of reconstituted capacity. More fundamentally: Venezuelan oil revenues flow to a presidential account in Qatar. Gaza is being auctioned for redevelopment. When the executive generates billions outside appropriations, congressional budget authority—the actual constitutional check—becomes irrelevant. Congress without a purse will soon be theater. | OBSOLETE |
| Democratic “overperformance” in off-year elections | Off-year elections for minor offices do not check federal executive power. Article itself flags 2026/2028 election integrity as the actual question—then treats it as a caveat rather than the central issue. | FAIL |
| GOP legislators rejected redistricting demands | Indiana and Kansas cited. Article does not enumerate states that complied. “Blue-state Democrats countered with gerrymanders” is escalating dysfunction, not democracy working. | PARTIAL |
| News organizations “continued aggressive reporting” | NYT suppressed Venezuela reporting as part of a deal with the administration. The paper of record didn’t “cover” the operation—it was warned in advance and agreed to withhold information. “Aggressive reporting” is not possible when major outlets are coordinating with the executive on what to publish. This is not a free press checking power; it is a captured press providing cover. | INVERTED |
| Law firms that caved “suffered talent loss” | Framing is inverted. Firms that caved, shed politically non-aligned lawyers—this is the point of monopolist consolidation. As federal work and corporate compliance flow exclusively to compliant firms, the “lost talent” has nowhere to go. Dissenting lawyers leave for firms that will increasingly be frozen out of business. The “talent loss” is a purge that creates anti-competitive conditions for the firms that remain. This isn’t a consequence discouraging collaboration; it’s how consolidation works. | INVERTED |
| Trump “squandered his chance” at post-democratic America | Article’s own evidence: unauthorized military invasion of sovereign nation, extrajudicial killing with immunity claim, captured Supreme Court, purged civil service, ongoing mass deportations. “Top experts in authoritarianism now contend that America can no longer be characterized as a democracy.” Thesis contradicts own reporting. | SELF-REFUTING |
Now let’s put this into context of what else this author has published before, and how it has turned out.
Track Record: Peddling an Unfalsifiable Framework
Six years of Atlantic headlines from the same author, all promising constraint, accountability, or system resilience:
| Date | Headline | What Happened Next |
|---|---|---|
| July 2020 | “Mazars Is a Victory for Rule of Law” | Trump never held accountable for financial crimes |
| July 2021 | “The First Glimmer of Accountability” | No accountability followed |
| June 2022 | “The January 6 Committee Is Not Messing Around” | Trump pardoned all J6 defendants |
| June 2023 | “Trump Can’t Bluster His Way Through Court” | Supreme Court granted immunity, cases collapsed |
| August 2023 | “The Triumph of the January 6 Committee” | Committee findings buried, participants rehabilitated |
| August 2023 | “Trump Discovers That Some Things Are Actually Illegal” | All federal cases dismissed after reelection |
| May 2024 | “Trump, Defeated” | Won election six months later |
| January 2025 | “Yes, the Law Can Still Constrain Trump” | Invaded sovereign nation without congressional authorization one year later |
| February 2025 | “The Opposition Is Already Growing” | Opposition produced no policy reversals |
| August 2025 | “Trump’s Crime Crackdown Isn’t Holding Up in Court” | Supreme Court continued rubber-stamping administration actions |
| October 2025 | “Resistance Is Cringe—But It’s Also Effective” | No evidence of effectiveness provided; Venezuelan boats bombed repeatedly, 100s of civilians to be murdered without check |
| December 2025 | “The Trump Administration Actually Backed Down” | Invaded Venezuela three weeks later and said Greenland is next |
| January 8, 2026 | “The Maduro Indictment Appears Legally Solid” | Obviously illegal invasion and dozens dead, millions without power. These deck chairs on the Titanic might float. |
| January 20, 2026 | “Trump’s Attack on Democracy Is Faltering” | Published same day as one-year anniversary of term that ended American democracy per “top experts”. Markets rattled by Trump attacks on democracy, Americans paying nearly 100% of tariffs, escalation of trade war, threats against NATO |
Can We Agree On Goalposts?
Not a single headline in six years acknowledges systemic failure. Every piece finds evidence of resilience regardless of outcomes. This framework cannot be falsified because the goalposts are moved with each iteration: “courts will stop him” becomes “district courts are trying” becomes “protests show signs of life” becomes “he’s unpopular.” The real product is only anxiety management, thinly covered by analysis.
Someone at The Atlantic is trying hard to deny reality, to gaslight us into swallowing fascism, as if what is happening shouldn’t be believed.
It’s like mixing drinks on the Titanic: “Ice? Why yes, I have some ice for your martini, which should reduce the stress of this talk about sinking.”
Who can forget the religious congregation leaders in Germany who told their own people to politely get on the trains to death camps?
The author dupes anxious readers into feeling like the situation is understood, and the guardrails might hold, despite obvious signs of too little too late. That’s an entertainment product. She’s wrong, because apparently being right isn’t her job.