The article of Mascaro et al. (2022) is dedicated to the issue of democracy in the US. More precisely, the article addresses the one-year anniversary of the riot at the US Capitol initiated by the supporter of the former president Donald Trump. Therefore, the purpose of Mascaro et al. (2022) is to inform the audience of the incumbent presidents, Joe Biden, view on this issue. The general idea of the post is that American democracy is moving towards a collapse.
One of the questions addressed by Mascaro et al. (2022) is why the riot happened one year ago. Another question is what this riot means for the overall institution of American democracy. As for the first question, the authors cite Joe Biden who claims that the ex-president is unable to accept defeat with dignity. For this reason, the riot at the Capitol could be seen as an attempt to hinder the peaceful and lawful transfer of power from Trump to Biden. From Bidens point of view, Trump and his supporters are thinking wishfully and attempting to rewrite history. The US administration at all times has emphasized the importance of democracy and advocated for its spread worldwide. However, the riot of January 6, 2021, reveals that something goes wrong with the American democratic regime. Besides, this revolt testifies to the split of American society. Traditionally, US citizens are divided by their political views, but this riot is more than conventional debates between Republicans and Democrats.
The arguments in the article of Mascaro et al. (2022) are based on the quotation of American authorities. More precisely, the authors cite Joe Biden, Elizabeth Cheney, Mitch McConnell, Dick Cheney, and Barak Obama. All these political figures either criticize the administration of Donald Trump and argue that he is dangerous for American society or claim that the institution of democracy is becoming dilapidated. From this, it could be inferred that the authors incline the audience towards criticism of Donald Trump.
Apart from quotations, Mascaro et al. (2022) also use the statistics on the number of Americans who condemn Trumps riot of last year. More exactly, the authors mention that one year after the attack almost ten percent more Americans blame Donald Trump for being responsible for its outbreak. In addition to that, Mascaro et al. (2022) address the possible criticism of Trumps supporters on voter fraud during the elections. According to the journalists, only an insignificant share of ballots contains signs of fraud. This way, the authors persuade the audience that Trumps argument on the violation of election rules is senseless and fictional.
The major problem of this article is that it is one-sided and presents only the position of Joe Biden on Trump and not vice versa. Undoubtedly, it is hard to disagree with the authors suggestion that the riot indicates the crisis of American democracy and illustrates the split of the nation. Nonetheless, the article does not address the case when the social media of Donald Trump were blocked. In the modern age of digital technologies, isolation from social media platforms is detrimental to the outcomes of the elections because it is how the candidates communicate with society and create a positive image. Furthermore, the article does not cite any reliable source to prove that it was Donald Trump who instigate activists to go for a riot. In other words, the analyzed article lacks objectivity and seems to turn readers against Trump instead of presenting a multidimensional analysis of the situation.
Reference
Mascaro, L., Miller, Z., & Jalonick, M. C. (2022). Biden warns of US peril from Trump’s ‘dagger’ at democracy. AP News. Web.