Confidence is the quiet engine of a republic. It is essential and a nation cannot function — let alone lead — when its people no longer trust the institutions that bind them together. One of the greatest harms Donald Trump has done is not a single policy, not a single scandal, but the slow, grinding erosion of Americans’ faith in their own system of government. He had made us feel bad about ourselves.
For generations, Americans believed that their institutions were imperfect but resilient. They believed that the Republic could withstand storms because its foundations were strong. Trump’s rise challenged that assumption. His governing style, rhetoric, and relentless attacks on the legitimacy of the very institutions he was elected to lead created a climate in which millions of Americans began to doubt the Republic itself. He has not taken care that the laws be faithfully executed.