In recent years, many political scientists have sounded the alarm about the dangers posed to democracy by Donald Trump’s presidency. Trump’s disregard for the rule of law, his coddling of bigots, and his utter lack of basic decency – all these things raise red flags.

But we’ve mostly disregarded one danger and it’s the one I believe is the most significant: Trump’s attack on the administrative state.

The novel coronavirus bug revealed the American state, so impressive on the global stage with its ability to project unparalleled military force anywhere in the world, as shockingly unable to carry out the most basic public health functions. As the US struggles with its new status as the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, it has quickly become apparent that the national public health bureaucracy, as it has evolved under Trump, is not up to the task.

Read on, courtesy of Public Seminar.