things were far from pristine prior

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/opinion/trump-authoritarianism-democracy.html

An aspect of that article indicates that the Democrats made a terrible mistake when they tried to keep Trump from running again using lawfare.

There was an idea after 2016 (Brexit, then Trump) that “the adults in the room” (the establishment elites and establishment media) should be more proactive about banishing “misinformation” and “misguided candidates.” In order to try to keep Trump from running again in 2024 they used lawfare. That opened the door for Trump himself to use it once back in power.

It’s always been used to some extent. The authors of the article think it’s now gone to an authoritarian extreme. It’s possible. It remains to be seen.