Professors James D. Long and Victor Menaldo on the events and aftermath options of the January 6th Capitol Building riot:
Over Trump’s term as president, he repeatedly violated democratic norms, like brazenly promoting his own business interests, interfering in the Justice Department, rejecting congressional oversight, insulting judges, harassing the media, and failing to concede his election loss. However, as scholars who study democracy, we predict that the biggest threats to democracy Trump poses won’t emerge until after he exits the White Houses –When Biden will hate to face the Trump presidency’s most serious challenges.
Newly elected leaders can often face strong incentives – and encouragement – to prosecute their predecessors, as Biden does now. But that approach often called restorative justice can also destabilize democracy’s prospects if the lame-duck executives anticipate this and decide to hunker down and fight instead of conceding defeat.