Dem
51
GOP
49
Donald Trump is acting like the U.S. has become a Third World country because it has indicted a former leader. Well, it is true, that quite a few Third World countries have indicted leaders since Jan. 1, 2000, but that is because many of them had corrupt leaders and have somewhat functional judicial systems. But a number of First World countries have also indicted leaders since 2000. Here is a map of both.
Since 1980, about half the world's countries have indicted at least one leader. How come? Well, power corrupts (and absolute power corrupts absolutely). When people get power, it goes to their heads and they think they can get away with anything. It doesn't always work. Not even in democracies. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted in two cases in 2021 and sentenced to prison. Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 24 years in prison for corruption, served 5 years, and was then pardoned. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still on trial in Israel. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been in and out of court for three decades. Former Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian was convicted of bribery in 2009. LULA was convicted of corruption in Brazil, was released after his conviction was thrown out, and won the presidency again. Former President Cristina Fernández Kirchner of Argentina was convicted of fraud. In Peru, every president but one from 1985 to 2018 has been arrested and charged. The list goes on.
So Trump's claim that only in America are former leaders put in trial is completely bogus. It happens all over the world where there are corrupt leaders. What stands out are the countries where this hasn't happened: Russia and China. Right, in dictatorships this doesn't happen. Only in democracies, where it happens quite regularly, because in those countries no one is above the law. (V)