Essential Questions
• How does the Trump Presidency reflect autocratic tendencies?
• How sturdy are the democratic institutional guardrails?
• What specific pillars of democracy are under attack?
• What is Project 2025? What role is it playing in the Trump Presidency?
Journalism and the Fight for Democracy
• How has Donald Trump’s relationship with the news media shaped public trust in journalism and democratic institutions in the United States?
• How does conflict between political leaders and the press impact democratic accountability?
• What ethical responsibilities do news organizations have when covering misinformation from political leaders?
• How has Donald Trump used the media—both mainstream and social media—as a tool to mobilize supporters and frame political narratives
• Introductions and welcome
• Homework for Session 3
• Music: "Everyday people," Playing for Change , Link to Site
• Gathering: A question that I have about Trump and Authoritarianism is..(Chat room)
• Speaker: Louisa Terrell, former Assistant to the President (Biden) and Director of Legislative Affairs: Ralph Begleiter, Emeritus Professor of UD Dept of Communications and CNN correspondent.
• Readings:
• "Are We losing our Democracy?," NYTimes Editorial Board,10/31/25 Link to Site
• "Trump's Stifling of Dissent Reaches New Level," NYTimes Editorial Board 2/6/26 Link to class
• Jennifer Dresden, et al, "The Authoritarian Playbook: How Reporters can contextualize and cover authoritarian threats as distinct from politics as usual," Protect Democracy, June 2022 Link to site
• George Packer, "America's Zombie Democracy," Atlantic Magazine, Link to Site
• Mike Allen, " 1 big thing: The most unprecendented presidency," Axios AM, 9/23/25 Link to site
• Stacey Abrams, "Trump Pushing Our Country into Authoritarianism, Jimmy Kimmel Live," July 8, 2025 Link to Site
• Maria Ressa, "Fighting Back Against Trump's Authoritarian Algorithm with Truth," Daily Show, 9/18/25 Link to SiteSheppele's Slide to Authoritarianism, chatgpt, Link to site
• Kim Lane Scheppele, "Bullying Universities: How trump is Destroying American Higher Education," verfassungsblog, July 28, 2025 Link to site
• Thomas Edsall, "I Even Believe He is Destroying the American Presidency," New York Times, May20, 2025 Link to site
• David Brooks, "How elites rigged society (and why its falling apart), Youtube, 2/18/25 Link to Site
• Steven Levitsky, "The New Authoritarianism," The Atlantic Magazine, 2/10/25 link to site
David Remick, interview with Sen. Chris Murphy,"We are Sleepwalking into Autocracy," NYTImes, March 30, 2025 Link to Site
Resources:
•Frank Langfitt, "Concern over autocracy in the U.S. continue to grow, " NPR, 2/16/26 Link to Site
• podcast, Robert Reich, "Why Do So Many Americans Support a Neofascist, " The Coffee Klatch, Link to Site
• "What is Project 2025?,"CHATGPT, Link to site
Closing: "Something that I learned Today was....."
We have frequently printed the word Democracy. Yet I cannot too often repeat that it is a word the real gist of which still sleeps, quite unawakened.
Walt Whitman, Democratic Vistas, 1872 from Heather Cox Richardson, Democracy Awakening
"Power is to be in the hands of the people, not people in the hands of power."
graffitti on the town hall of Prijedor, Bosnia 1998
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