How stable are we?

Seven in 10 Americans say things in America feel out of control, according to a recent Economist/YouGov survey. Much of this feeling can be attributed to Donald Trump. A YouGov poll in April found only 16% of Americans picked “steady” to describe Trump, while 48% said he suffers modest or significant cognitive decline. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in February showed 61% of Americans, including 30% of Republicans, describe him as having become erratic with age. Democratic U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin went further, demanding that the White House physician give Trump a cognitive test after Trump made disturbing comments on Iran, including that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran refused to negotiate with the United States. Across the Atlantic, French army chief Fabien Mandon said in March that the United States is becoming an “increasingly unpredictable” ally.

This poses a central question just days before the midterm elections: can the United States under Donald Trump still be relied on as a source of stability? The U.S. has long earned that role. It is one of the oldest active democratic systems in the world, and our Constitution is the world’s oldest written national constitution still in force. The U.S. dollar also makes up over 56 percent of the world’s foreign currency reserves. And we have not had a revolution in over 200 years.