American democracy dodged a bullet in 2022

American Democracy Dodged a Bullet in 2022 | GZERO World

Were fears about US democracy in peril being overblown?

No, and in fact we're underestimating the danger, says Tom Nichols, a staff-writer at The Atlantic and author of the book "Our Own Worst Enemy: The Assault From Within On Modern Democracy."

"Election deniers and various other cooks and weirdos almost took over state offices," he tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, "and they're all coming back for another bite of the apple in 2024.”

For Anne-Marie Slaughter, former US State Department official and now CEO of New America, the main takeaway from the US midterms was Gov. Ron DeSantis's huge margin of victory in Florida and the many Trump-backed candidates who lost big. Both outcomes have massive implications for 2024.

Will the former POTUS beat DeSantis to win the GOP presidential nomination? Nichols, who used to be a Republican, puts Trump's odds at 60-70% and says he's amazed that some people question President Biden running again. It wouldn't be a debate for most other presidents.

Watch the GZERO World episode: On Russia’s reckoning, China’s vulnerability & US democracy’s Dunkirk

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