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We are a country that stands on the precipice, just six weeks away from swearing in, for the second time, a wannabe \u201cdictator\u201d<\/a> with ambitions to wildly reshape our democracy. There is a desire to tune out. I get it. And while, as a member of the media, I feel a little sheepish making the case to keep reading columns (like this one!), watching the news, and listening to podcasts, it\u2019s a perilous moment for America, and it only serves Donald Trump<\/strong> and his allies to look the other way.<\/p>\n Many people were shocked by Trump\u2019s victory in 2016 and turned to the news media to make sense of what had happened, buying subscriptions<\/a> and becoming glued to cable news<\/a>. Eight years later, the legacy media looks like a shrunken husk, with 2024 election night viewership down<\/a> more than 25% from the last presidential race and a growing perception that the likes of Joe Rogan<\/strong> are ascendant<\/a> while the old guard<\/a> is diminished<\/a>. But even if people are<\/a> tuning out<\/a> political coverage, that doesn\u2019t mean the news cycle is going to grind to a halt.<\/p>\n On the contrary, there\u2019s been no shortage of developments the past few weeks as Trump has started assembling a potential Cabinet featuring normal choices, like Marco Rubio<\/strong> for secretary of state, alongside norms-crushers, such as FBI director nominee Kash Patel,<\/strong> a guy who has mused about<\/a> targeting journalists, and defense secretary candidate Pete Hegseth,<\/strong> a former Fox News host who has railed against<\/a> so-called wokeness in the military. The public can\u2019t count on Republicans, who will control the Senate next month, to fully vet such nominees, as Tommy Tuberville,<\/strong> for one, said it\u2019s not their job<\/a>. \u201cWho\u2019s to say we\u2019re a better vetter and picker of people than Donald Trump?\u201d asked Tuberville, who apparently doesn\u2019t grasp that it\u2019s the Senate\u2019s constitutional duty to give \u201cadvice and consent\u201d on the presidential Cabinet nominees.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also the traditional role of the media to apply scrutiny to people nominated for powerful government positions. Without the work of journalists, the public wouldn\u2019t know about allegations of sexual<\/a> misconduct<\/a>, excessive<\/a> drinking<\/a>, and financial mismanagement<\/a> against Hegseth, who has denied the claims against him. (Trump, meanwhile, is standing by<\/a> his pick.) The Hegseth coverage has painted a picture of someone who appears unprepared to lead a department with an $849 billion budget<\/a> and nearly 3 million employees, and is a reminder of the type of accountability journalism needed in the face of Trump\u2019s unreality show<\/a>.<\/p>\n The transition period has already shown that Trump can be held in check, as even Republican senators appeared to balk<\/a> at the idea of Matt Gaetz<\/strong> leading the Justice Department. The Trump transition also relented in allowing Cabinet nominees to be vetted by the FBI<\/a> after \u201cmultiple senators in both parties\u2026called for thorough vetting of Trump\u2019s picks,\u201d according to Politico, which suggests that pushback still works with the president-elect. This may seem like a very small victory, but every victory is exactly that\u2014a victory. Protecting norms and institutions is a game of inches, not feet.<\/p>\n Trump is still heading into the White House emboldened. He wants to do a lot, much of which is completely without historical precedent. On Sunday, he told<\/a> NBC\u2019s Kristen Welker<\/strong> that \u201cwe have to end\u201d birthright citizenship, despite that right being enshrined in our Constitution. He called the first section of the 14th Amendment \u201cridiculous.\u201d No one is surprised that the guy who is musing about pardoning the January 6 rioters is now toying with editing the Constitution, but it further shows how incredibly dangerous this moment is. Utah senator and devoted Trumper Mike Lee<\/strong> followed up the NBC interview by making<\/a> a nonsensical case on the president-elect\u2019s behalf, showing how far some in the GOP will go to provide a rationale for Trump\u2019s ideas.<\/p>\n There is something especially terrible and tragic about the idea of changing Reconstruction-era amendments like the 14th, which was originally ratified in 1868 to grant citizenship to formerly enslaved people. These amendments are a key part of the democratic bedrock on which America is built\u2014not ideals to which a president can simply take a Sharpie<\/a>. Worse yet, their demise could also mark the beginning of an even darker future in which he could embark upon wreaking more constitutional chaos, challenging other<\/em> civil rights that America holds near and dear. Trump may not be able to do this via executive order, but the fact that he\u2019s even discussing it should serve as a wake-up call for all of us.<\/p>\n Americans are exhausted. I\u2019m exhausted too (I used to be young and did not have bags under my eyes). It\u2019s been nearly a decade since Trump came down that golden escalator. But it\u2019s also important to remember that this was a close election with lower turnout than in 2020, and 75 million voters<\/a> cast ballots against Trump; the man does not have the \u201cmandate<\/a>\u201d he thinks he has. It may be tempting to despair, retreat into nihilism, and conclude that nothing can stop Trump from taking over our government and remodeling it into some kind of Koch-brother fever dream. But that is very much not true! We were able to protect institutions during the first Trump administration; we can do that again. The question is: How do we best protect the norms and institutions so that they can survive after Trump\u2019s second term?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n