See the real face of Trump

I hope the Korean media squarely confronts the real face of an American politician who denied the values of democracy.

Joseph JuhnThe author is a U.S. lawyer and filmmaker. Four years ago, I followed five Korean Americans running for Congress in the 2020 election for a documentary titled “Chosen.” At the time, I thought the 2020 election would be remembered as the most dramatic election in U.S. history. As many as 1,736 deaths were reported in a day due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the economy was in crisis. The death of George Floyd had sparked a movement for racial justice and there was also a wave of Asian hate crimes due to the coronavirus. In hindsight, I was wrong four years ago. The situation in the United States has become even more precarious with the re-emergence of former President Donald Trump.

As a Korean American, I sometimes have a serious problem with Korean media’s coverage of the U.S. presidential election, given their overly simple and naïve perspectives on Trump’s candidacy. The media often portray him as an odd man or uncritically accept his claims of political legitimacy.

They treat his re-election as a foregone conclusion and predict its impact on the Korean Peninsula. Some even aired special documentaries that portray him as a hero who made a successful political comeback.

But the media coverage of Trump is not just a matter of political party or ideology, nor is it a matter of liking or disliking the performance of Trump’s first term. Fundamentally, it’s a matter of basic trust in democratic institutions. Trump, as a candidate, had denied the results of the presidential election and a peaceful regime change. He still calls the results of the 2020 presidential race “a fraud,” even though every court in America ruled them “fair.”

Shortly before his presidential term ended in January 2021, he incited thousands of his followers to storm the Capitol and disrupt the ratification process of the newly elected president. Trump was at the center of an incident that resulted in the deaths of several police officers and protesters while mobs intimidated lawmakers. Shortly after the 2020 presidential election, he telephoned the Georgia secretary of state to pressure him to help “find the hidden 11,780 votes” to overturn the state’s election results in his favor.

Three years have passed since he was indicted in the two cases after his presidency, and he is unlikely to go to trial before this year’s election due to his lawyers’ obstruction of justice and trial delay tactics. It is outrageous that even if he is convicted, there are no legal or institutional sanctions against his attempt to seek re-election, as evidenced by his conviction in May of falsifying documents to cover up a payment to silence a porn star ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

It is astonishing that an incumbent president — who incited violence and failed to win his second term — can still run again in the election with impunity. This shows the collapse of the “honor code” that supports American democracy — and reveals serious flaws in the American system.

The Korean media must point out the severity of this problem. The United States has the model of liberal democracy that Korea admires most. And yet, constructive criticism of Trump has been dismissed as a Democratic Party conspiracy or a witch hunt. The judicial system and representative democracy have failed in the United States. The only mechanism to keep the system in check is the judgement of the people in the November election.

Biden’s decision not to run for re-election is very refreshing. He inevitably withdrew from the race, given his age and cognitive decline, as well as pressures from the public and senior members of the Democratic Party particularly after his TV debate debacle. Still, Biden’s willingness to surrender his candidacy is in stark contrast to Trump’s political behavior.

The influence of the U.S. president is powerful enough to change the world order. But just as important is the symbolism of the U.S. presidency for democracy and the free world. Trump is deemed a threat to that symbolism. The violent political extremism represented by Trumpism has already reached dangerous levels.

The reality is devastating that Trump — who has rejected the mechanism of democracy and the peaceful transition of power by using conspiracy theories and his influences — may become president again by using populism as a weapon. We can only hope that the collective intelligence of U.S. citizens will function properly in the November election. I hope the media in Korea, a key U.S. ally and one of the developed countries in the world, squarely confronts the real face of an American politician who denied the values of democracy — and demonstrates the courage to voice criticism beyond their party lines and ideology.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

I hope the Korean media squarely confronts the real face of an American politician who denied the values of democracy.