The Death of Democracy in America Is Boring

by Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D.

Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, anyone paying even the slightest bit of attention has witnessed constant assaults on personal liberties and the Constitution. What I want to argue is more unsettling: what we’ve seen over the past months is not only distressing, but boring, and that’s the real danger.

Nearly every day brings new, outrageous statements and behavior from Trump, his loyalists in key political positions, and most elected Republicans in Congress. Each controversy makes us wonder: Can it get any worse? But after years of similar actions dating back to 2016, that question has lost its bite. The predictable cycle of outrage and inaction has created something dangerous: civic numbness.

Why Democratic Erosion Feels Boring

There are at least four reasons why current threats to American democracy have lost their capacity to shock us.

1. The Predictability Problem. If one considers Trump’s first term (2017–2021) or his 2024 campaign promises, nothing happening now should come as a surprise. With the assistance of Project 2025, DOGE, etc., his administration is systematically implementing exactly what he outlined, including, but not limited to: mass deportations, dismantling the Department of Education, reducing…