J. Bradford DeLong delves into the history of America’s fledgling republic and highlights the fears of the Founding Fathers – emotion, corruption and factionalism that plagued democracy in ancient Greece and Rome. James Madison “warned his fellow countrymen that their chosen system of governance would only survive if they adhered to the principles of representation and kept factionalism in check.” Today under Trump, “these two conditions are no longer being met.”

In fact Trump is the embodiment of the tyrant, the mad King George III of England, the Framers had in mind. The “republican democracy” was in their eyes “the best form of government.” They rejected the Athenian-style accountability mechanism, even though its checks might have been institutionalised. In 2016 Trump took a page out of the Athenian playbook, which relied on open popular votes and could turn into theatres where skilled orators sought to manipulate collective emotion and bend the law.

The Founding Fathers feared that if they subjected statesmen directly to the popular will on a regular basis, mob fury would destroy their harmonious republic, and the tyranny of the majority could rule unchecked. Instead of using regular, showy public examinations, the Framers tried to restrain the abuse of power more subtly, with a delicately balanced system of checks between separate branches of government and a genteel pact of informal restraints.

Some Americans had naively believed that Trump would unite and heal a divided country once in office. He vowed that people would rule again, after delivering them from the hated establishment and draining the “swamp” in Washington. He always claimed that he and only he represents the real people and the others do not count. All opposition is illegitimate and anyone opposing him is the “enemy of the people.” Factionalism is Trump’s divide-and-conquer strategy that aims to polarise the country, in order to secure power.

Trump had pledged in his oath “to preserve, protect and defend” the 1787 Constitution, whose point was to prevent a president from acting with the impunity of a tyrant. One would have thought that the document was crafted with almost mathematical precision, constructing a near-perfect equilibrium of checks and balances – offered protection against abuses and perils.But Trump has been flouting rules and laws without consequences.

Critics say much of what keeps a democracy intact is not enshrined in the written letter of a Constitution, but resides instead in customs and conventions – norms – that are essential to civic wellbeing. Trump had trampled all over them as a candidate, like refusing to release his tax returns and has trampled over even more as president. He did not divest himself of private business to prevent a conflict of interest. In the absence of a law explicitly forcing him to do so, he did what was not forbidden – appointing unqualified relatives to senior jobs and firing James Comey for no legitimate reasons.

Alexander Hamilton believed the new US Constitution would prevent the extremes of tyranny and anarchy: “The regular distribution of power into distinct departments; the introduction of legislative balances and checks; the institution of courts composed of judges holding their offices during good behavior; the representation of the people in the legislature.” These, he wrote, “are means, and powerful means, by which the excellences of republican government may be retained and its imperfections lessened or avoided.”

The Founding Fathers and fellow Framers of the Constitution would be turning in their graves if they saw how the spineless Republicans in Congress refused to move against Trump lest they drew the wrath of his base. This was a fatal oversight, as the Founding Fathers did not expect a partisanship so intense it would blind congressional Republicans to the nation’s interest – prompting them to put party ahead of country. Madison, Hamilton et al did not conceive of a force like today’s GOP, willing to indulge a president blatantly hostile to ideals and values Americans once held sacred.

The author says for “republican democracy” to remain the “best form” of government, there must be a revival of “prudent, informed representation and the transcendence of factionalism.” As long as Trump is in office, this will unlikely happen. The malaise will take a toll on the GOP’s political future, suffering possible setbacks in the November mid-term elections. If Democrats do their homework right, they can the torchbearer of America’s future.