Nothing is ever black or white. The US historically had and continues to have democratic elements in its system of government, although people are correct that it has always fallen well short of fully democratic. That said, experts on democracy have all documented a dramatic decline in the health and functioning of those democratic institutions in recent years. Some experts have described it as the largest and most rapid decline ever documented in modern times. But it's still not as authoritarian as many other nations. Elections remain largely free and are typically executed according to the law, despite bias in the way they operate. Free press continues to exist despite some pressures and consolidation among larger outlets.

Personally I think the only solution to this deterioration beyond continued struggle and education is a localist movement where political power is returned to lower levels of government. This is the only way to preserve democracy when the will of the populace has diverged so dramatically. But no major political factions seem to favor this approach currently.