to promote democracy, his challenge won t be just combatting the messages of authoritarian media machines abroad but the autocrat apologists here at home. john avlon is here tonight with a reality check. . the biden administration s democracy side is a sign of solidarity against that rising tide the need is real. after all democracy has been in retreat for over a decade according to freedom house. as autocracies pitch the promise of wealth without liberty. predictability china and russia denounced the summit even before it began. no wonder because they ve gotten used to bullying critics into silence and submission, but there are heartening signs of a push back. the biden administration has been notably tough on china contrary to all the trumpest claims of beijing and biden during the campaign.