Joe Biden won a decisive victory in the US presidential election. The size of the Democrat’s winning margin did a lot to calm immediate fears for the future of American democracy. It was depressingly predictable that Donald Trump would seek to overturn the result, by any means available. But in the two months since the vote, US institutions have demonstrated their robustness. Courts at every level have rejected Mr Trump’s meritless efforts to overturn the election. Public officials — many of them members of Mr Trump’s Republican party — have done their jobs, supporting democracy and the rule of law.
So far, so good. But American democracy is not safe yet. As Mr Biden’s inauguration on January 20 approaches, Mr Trump’s efforts to subvert the poll are becoming ever more desperate, and dangerous. The depths to which the president has sunk became even more apparent with the release of a taped conversation between Mr Trump and Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state. The president is heard clearly attempting to reverse Georgia’s election, clutching at spurious arguments and conspiracy theories.
Many lawyers believe that the Raffensperger tape gives grounds for Mr Trump’s prosecution. The immediate priority, however, is to safeguard the transition to the Biden presidency.