Many things lead to this. A society that gets fooled by clowns. Dehumanization of people from other groups. A system where the checks and balances are more of a

Many things lead to this. A society that gets fooled by clowns. Dehumanization of people from other groups. A system where the checks and balances are more of a convention rather than enforced and one part of the government has too much power to change the other ones. The two party system in general. A long ongoing process to erode democracy and trust in many institutions caused by forces from within and outside. The internet allowing everyone to find and organize with peers for even the most insane ideas, looking legitimate to outsiders because of group sizes we normally hardly see in person. And probably a dozen other reasons each being a tiny problem but resulting in a catastrophe together.