CNN reporter says Trump supporters calling America a republic is 'an attack on democracy'

A CNN reporter characterized supporters of former President Donald Trump by describing the United States of America as a republic as “an attack on democracy” during a segment that aired Sunday.

Several Trump supporters told CNN's Donie O'Sullivan that the US was not a “democracy” in man-on-the-street interviews during the segment, instead describing it as a republic. O'Sullivan tried to refute his description in an interview with historian Anne Applebaum.

“America is a democracy. It was founded as a democracy,” Applebaum stated after being asked by O'Sullivan if the United States was a democracy.

“I've heard a lot of conspiracy theories. I hear a lot of things on the road, but to hear Americans, people who would describe themselves as patriots, say that America is not a democracy, that stopped me in my tracks,” he said. O'Sullivan said to Applebaum.

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CNN Reporter Says Trump Supporters Calling America A Republic Is 'An Attack On Democracy' pic.twitter.com/XQP3AQ8KY9

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Applebaum blamed Trump for denials that America is a democracy.

“You're hearing people say that America is not a democracy because there are people around Trump who want them to say that, who have been planting that narrative,” Applebaum said.

Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution guarantees the states a “republican” form of government, and historical records and documents show the founders how John Adams i Alexander Hamilton express skepticism about democracy.

“Honestly, the word 'democracy' and the word 'republic' have often been used interchangeably,” Applebaum said. “There is no significant difference between them.”

“If they can convince people that we don't have a democracy, then it's OK for Trump to attack democracy because it really doesn't matter,” Applebaum added.

James Madison described the differences between pure democracies and a republic The number 10 federalist.

“There is, of course, a legitimate debate about what form of democracy we have here in the United States, direct democracy, representative democracy, in fact, constitutional republic, which you have heard from the people mentioned in this article, which is a form of democracy. But look, this isn't really a debate about government, it's an attack on democracy,” O'Sullivan told CNN host Omar Jimenez. “People have heard the warnings that Trump is a danger to democracy, and so there are people trying to convince others that, well, America is not a democracy in the first place, and therefore Trump is not it can be a threat.”

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