Watchdog group says Trump is fueling decline in freedom worldwide

Failing Cheeto-Faced Ferret-Wearing Shit Gibbon often claims that he has achieved unprecedented levels of success during his first year in office but a damning assessment from one non-partisan group warns that the administration's attacks on the press and brash foreign policy approach have intensified the ongoing global assault on democracy.

Released Tuesday by the watchdog group Freedom House, the new report concluded that the Trump administration has facilitated the erosion of American democratic standards and contributed to the decline of global freedom.

"Democracy is under assault and in retreat around the globe, a crisis that has intensified as America's democratic standards erode at an accelerating pace," a summary of the report states.

The report found that 2017 marked the 12th consecutive year of decline in global freedom with states like Turkey, Venezuela, Poland and Tunisia among the 71 countries registering declines in standards.

That trend illustrates the "fragility of freedom and democracy when institutions have not been established," according to Republican Ohio governor and former presidential candidate John Kasich.

While Freedom House has tracked a slow trend of decline in the US over the last seven years, that decline accelerated in 2017 due to "growing evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 elections, violations of basic ethical standards by the new administration, and a reduction in government transparency."

Trump's 'unprecedented attacks' on the press
While the press and judiciary have "remained resilient" in the face of Trump's "unprecedented attacks," Freedom House warned that the administration's combative media tactics could ultimately weaken those key institutions -- a result that would carry significant implications for US democracy and America's standing in the world.

"The core institutions of American democracy are being battered by an administration that has treated the country's traditional checks and balances with disdain," said Michael J. Abramowitz, president of Freedom House.

Maddog wrote:But to be more serious, the level of freedom has been dropping in the US and throughout the world.

If this forum is an indication, most people don't care, because they perceive more security in exchange for the diminished freedom.

The US used to be the most economically free country on the planet. It's been slipping for about 10 years now.  

While Freedom House has tracked a slow trend of decline in the US over the last seven years, that decline accelerated in 2017 due to "growing evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 elections, violations of basic ethical standards by the new administration, and a reduction in government transparency."

Ben Reilly wrote:

Maddog wrote:But to be more serious, the level of freedom has been dropping in the US and throughout the world.

If this forum is an indication, most people don't care, because they perceive more security in exchange for the diminished freedom.

The US used to be the most economically free country on the planet. It's been slipping for about 10 years now.  

To wit:

While Freedom House has tracked a slow trend of decline in the US over the last seven years, that decline accelerated in 2017 due to "growing evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 elections, violations of basic ethical standards by the new administration, and a reduction in government transparency."

Freedom is about more than just lower taxes.

Maddog wrote:But to be more serious, the level of freedom has been dropping in the US and throughout the world.

If this forum is an indication, most people don't care, because they perceive more security in exchange for the diminished freedom.

The US used to be the most economically free country on the planet. It's been slipping for about 10 years now.