The state of our democracy isn’t so strong

Three days ago, President Obama warned about the health of America’s democracy. “Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it’s really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own,” Obama said. “Whether or not we stand up for our freedoms. Whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law. That’s up to us. America is no fragile thing. But the gains of our long journey to freedom are not assured.” Three days later, the outgoing president doesn’t seem to be that wrong about the state of our democracy, especially when it comes to key American institutions. Consider all of the news from this week alone: A good chunk of Americans — without substantiation as of now — believe President-elect Trump is somehow compromised by the Russian government; Trump continues to criticize the U.S. intelligence community; Trump’s incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn reportedly phoned Russia’s ambassador multiple times after the Obama administration announced its sanctions on Russia, according to the Washington Post’s David Ignatius; only 44% of Americans approve of Trump’s performance so far, per Gallup (versus 83% for Obama at this same time eight years ago); an inspector general is now reviewing FBI Director James Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email story, especially in the election’s final days; Trump tweeted this morning that Clinton was “guilty as hell”; and Trump scolded the news media at his press conference (“You are fake news,” he directed at one outlet).

Read the full article on NBC News.