One of the central arguments being made by President Biden as the presidential election nears is that American democracy hangs in the balance. The idea that Donald Trump poses a unique and significant threat to democracy has been a theme of Biden’s rhetoric since before his 2020 election, though he sharpened the argument significantly after the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters attempted to block the finalization of Biden’s election.
New Washington Post-Schar School polling conducted in six swing states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) shows that confidence in democracy and American elections is lower among supporters of Donald Trump — but that voters in those states are more likely to say that Trump would do a better job addressing those concerns. Those most sympathetic to an authoritarian form of government, meanwhile, include demographic groups that have traditionally voted heavily Democratic.