Constance Hunter

The Economist Intelligence Unit says the United States fell six spots last year in its Global Democracy Index.

The U.S.

tied with Poland for 34th out of 167 countries.

Constance Hunter with Economist Enterprise cites a range of actions, from Trump's lawsuits against news organizations to his deployments of the National Guard.

She says the survey has a message.

The White House has rejected surveys that accuse the president of damaging democracy, and Trump has repeatedly denied he tries to rule as an autocrat.

Frank Lankford, NPR News, Washington.