Former US president Donald Trump being found guilty on 34 felony counts by a New York court, despite postponement of sentencing to September, holds immense historical significance, as it further lowers the ethical standards for political competition in the United States and raises great concerns for Democrats about the fate they might face if Trump were to be elected.  

In a highly polarized political landscape, the seemingly unanimous verdict against a controversial figure ahead of an election was bound to fuel political suspicions, regardless of the actual motivations behind the judicial process.

The trial of Trump, largely the Republican candidate for November presidential election, took place in Democrat stronghold New York City, where the 12 randomly selected jurors were seen as more likely to be Democratic Party supporters. This raised doubts about the fairness of the proceedings among Republicans, prompting repeated but unsuccessful attempts by Trump's legal team to change the venue.

The current state of US politics is all about political decay, as has been described by US political scientist Francis Fukuyama. The seeds of this decay were sown in the early 21st century, with the country’s "rewarding the best and punishing the worst" mechanism already eroding.            

The 2000 US presidential election — highly disputed due to the extremely close vote count and ultimately decided by the Supreme Court in favor of Republican George W Bush — held three key implications for the country's political developments that collectively point to a breakdown in US democracy.        

First, it marked the first electoral deadlock since the full implementation of the "one person, one vote" principle enshrined in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — and the first instance where the popular vote winner did not assume the presidency.

Second, the Supreme Court's intervention in the Florida recount process raised serious questions about the independence of the judiciary. The Republican-nominated justices sided with Bush, while the Democratic nominees supported his rival Al Gore, exposing the political biases that can influence judicial decision-making.

The separation of powers in the US system has not shielded the courts from the influence of political leanings.

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The Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn the federal right to abortion, with the Republican-nominated justices unanimously siding against it, exemplifies how judicial interpretations can be shaped by partisan allegiances. This reflects the profound political divides currently permeating US institutions.  

The court’s recent landmark ruling that dramatically expands the power of the presidency further protect Trump from criminal prosecution.

Third, the 2000 election marked the disappearance of the foundational US principle of "rewarding the best and punishing the worst", where political figures and parties with superior performance would be re-elected but the underperforming ones would be voted out.

Despite the economic prosperity and fiscal surplus under the Bill Clinton administration, the Democratic Party candidate in 2000 Gore did not benefit from the party's successful track record.

Conversely, back in the 1980s, Republican successor George HW Bush capitalized on the Reagan-era performance, even as the merits of the candidates themselves seemed to play a diminished role in the outcome.        

The eight years of the George W Bush presidency marked a critical period of US decline in the post-Cold War era.

Two wars and a financial crisis severely depleted US soft and hard power, which was not solely the fault of George W Bush himself, but rather indicative of systemic problems.

In 2001, the US Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force, paving the way for the Afghanistan War. Only Congresswoman Barbara Lee cast a dissenting vote, a lone figure later proved to be the only one making the right choice.  

Remarkably, George W Bush was considered one of the worst presidents in history but still managed to secure re-election. This was another clear failure of the "rewarding the best and punishing the worst" mechanism and proof the US had embarked on a perilous path.

In 2008, the country made history by electing Barack Obama, its first African-American president. From a historical perspective, such unprecedented political events can stem from two possibilities: systemic disorder or reform.

Obama's election belonged to the former category, as a series of negative "firsts" followed, such as the election of the political outsider and populist Donald Trump in 2016, who like George W Bush won the presidency despite losing the popular vote.    

The political system created by the “Founding Fathers” of the US was specifically designed to prevent figures like Trump from attaining power, yet this safeguard had clearly collapsed.

Trump's defeat in 2020 sparked nationwide protests, the first time since universal suffrage that Americans refused to accept the electoral outcome. Trump and numerous congressional allies continue to reject the results, making it the first time a sitting president disputed the election. The storming of the US Capitol in Washington on Jan 6, 2021, was another unprecedented event in US history.  

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Today, a former president facing criminal charges is yet another first. Surveys indicate over 60 percent of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track.

As early as 2014, scholars such as Fukuyama warned of the country’s political decay, a prediction that has only been borne out. To echo the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, the inevitable descent of democracy into tyranny appears to be unfolding before our eyes.    

The author is a political scientist based in France and a research fellow at the China Research Institute of Fudan University. 

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.