Donald Trump has spoken many times from the Oval Office, but what matters more is what he has done to American democracy. Over the years, he has broken down many of the guardrails that once protected the system. Big moments like January 6th or sending troops against U.S. citizens are easy to point to, but now comes something equally dangerous: the indictment of former FBI director James Comey. This may mark one of the most destructive blows to the country’s democratic traditions.
What makes this so troubling is that Trump seems to believe there are no rules or limits that apply to him no law, no ethics, no basic sense of responsibility. By ordering charges against Comey, he has shown the world that he is willing to punish his personal enemies in ways that resemble authoritarian regimes. In countries run by dictators, one of the first moves is to jail political rivals. That’s the road Trump appears to be on.
Supporters might argue that President Biden’s Justice Department charged Trump and others too, but there is no evidence Biden directed any of those cases. In fact, Attorney General Merrick Garland was so cautious that he brought in a special prosecutor, delaying the process for months. The contrast matters because Trump’s action against Comey looks like personal revenge, not justice.
Meanwhile, Trump himself ignored subpoenas, refused to return government documents, and encouraged the January 6th attack on Congress — acts that were corrupt and dangerous. Those crimes were real, but when Trump turns the justice system against people like Comey, who did nothing illegal, it becomes a weapon for payback. To Trump, simply being his opponent seems like a crime.
Even more shocking, Trump didn’t even hide it. He publicly told Attorney General Pam Bondi to indict his enemies and fired one of his own U.S. attorneys when things didn’t go his way. Moves like this are not mistakes — they are deliberate attempts to twist the system for personal gain.
The only real hope of stopping the Comey case lies with the courts. Lower federal judges have often been the strongest defenders of the Constitution, standing up against Trump’s abuses. A judge could throw out the charges as politically motivated. But even if that happens, the damage to trust in the system is already done.
The U.S. has often relied on voters to eventually reject corruption at the ballot box. But here’s the problem: if Trump is willing to use prosecutions to silence opponents, can we even count on fair elections in the future? Countries like Russia hold elections, too — but they’re meaningless because the outcomes are predetermined. That is the path America risks heading down.
And even if Trump eventually leaves office, the danger remains. If the next president prosecutes Trump’s circle, the cycle continues: one party charging the other, each claiming legitimacy, and democracy erodes further. The smarter move might even be to let history judge Trump instead of endlessly relitigating his actions. But ignoring crimes can also weaken the country, because it teaches future leaders they can get away with anything.
This is why Comey’s indictment is such a turning point. He is not a criminal — he was a government official who made tough calls, some controversial, but not illegal. Trump’s decision to target him shows that no one is safe if they anger the president. It has taken over two centuries to build the American system, and one man has managed to tear down its protections in just a few years.
There’s no easy way forward. Maybe it will take an entirely new generation of leaders to restore real democracy. But the warning is clear: this is about more than one case or one man. It’s about whether America allows itself to slide fully into a system where power, not law, decides everything.
