Democracy is as much a matter of the political culture as it is a matter of the political rules.
In a society with a democratic culture, saying you want to end democracy already is a de facto disqualification - only a handful of people in a democracy would vote for such a candidate. The problem the US has is that 40% or so of the electorate appear to be culturally hostile to democracy. They will vote fascist regardless, they view elections as only having value to the extent that they’re a mechanism to elect their candidates and enact their policies, and they can’t fathom the legitimacy of any election that results in their side losing.
Democracy is as much a matter of the political culture as it is a matter of the political rules.
In a society with a democratic culture, saying you want to end democracy already is a de facto disqualification - only a handful of people in a democracy would vote for such a candidate. The problem the US has is that 40% or so of the electorate appear to be culturally hostile to democracy. They will vote fascist regardless, they view elections as only having value to the extent that they’re a mechanism to elect their candidates and enact their policies, and they can’t fathom the legitimacy of any election that results in their side losing.