'Wizard of Oz' illusion: Column warns Trump revealed America's hidden weakness

President Donald Trump's popularity has called into question numerous aspects of American politics, but none more so than democracy itself, according to experts.

In a new essay for The New York Times, columnist Thomas Edsall argues that Trump has been remarkably effective at undermining American democracy. Experts Edsall spoke to said some factors contributing to Trump's assault on democracy include the GOP's sycophancy, his attacks on independent institutions like universities and the judiciary, and his quest to redefine American citizenship through immigration enforcement.

But the most damaging aspect of the administration is how it laid bare the weakness of American democracy to protect itself from Trump's attacks.

"The strength of American democracy has been revealed to be something akin to the power of the Wizard of Oz: seemingly all-powerful but in fact much weaker than almost anyone imagined," Lucia Way, a political scientist at the University of Toronto, told Edsall.

Throughout American history, democracy has been discussed as a weapon against tyranny. However, Trump's rise shows that democracy can be used to achieve tyrannical or authoritarian ends, according to Edsall.

Edsall cites an essay written in May by Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt that argues America has already crossed the line from democracy into authoritarianism. Trump pushed the country in that direction by raising the stakes of criticizing his government, they argued.

"When citizens must think twice about criticizing or opposing the government because they could credibly face government retribution, they no longer live in a full democracy," Levitsky and Ziblatt wrote.

However, that does not mean all is lost. America has a lot of civil resources at its disposal to counter the damage Trump has inflicted. Some examples include trade unions, businesses, universities, nonprofits, and similar organizations.

The only question, according to Levitsky and Ziblatt, is "whether civic leaders will develop the courage to work collaboratively and effectively to reverse America’s authoritarian turn."