Trump Will Go As Far As He Can in His Pursuit of Power

Published in Der Standard
(Austria) on 31 March 2025
by Manuela Honsig-Erlenburg (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Michael Stehle. Edited by Patricia Simoni.
Donald Trump means what he says. He will go as far as the United States will let him.

Donald Trump doesn’t have to leaf far through the dictator’s handbook when it comes to remaining in office longer than the Constitution allows. The methods around the world are varied. One especially popular trick is simply changing a constitution — which is admittedly easier in many of the world’s countries than it is in the United States of America, where no proposal for a constitutional amendment has secured the necessary majorities since 1992.

But still, if Trump says he’s “not joking,” from experience you have to take him seriously — because the president of the United States has long since declared war on the rule of law. “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” he posted recently on Truth Social. A phrase from the writings of Roman philosopher of law and politician Cicero, who fits perfectly into Trump’s concept.

Who Will Stop Trump?

However, Cicero, who operated in antiquity and who should also be evaluated in this context, valued the rule of law and understood that leaders are accountable to the laws of their time. Trump doesn’t see it that way. His motive lies in stretching the limits of feasibility and his power further and further. He is not concerned with the people of the United States and the political, democratic system. That is how the president ticks and this has been known for years. He will go as far as he can. And as far as the United States will let him.


Donald Trump meint, was er sagt. Er wird so weit kommen, wie die USA ihn lassen

Im Handbuch für Diktatoren muss Donald Trump nicht weit blättern, wenn es darum geht, länger im Amt zu bleiben, als es die Verfassung erlaubt. Die Methoden sind weltweit vielfältig. Ein besonders beliebter Dreh ist es, einfach die Verfassung zu ändern – was in vielen Staaten der Welt zugegebenermaßen leichter ist als in den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika, wo seit 1992 kein Verfassungsänderungsantrag mehr die notwendigen Mehrheiten bekommen hat.

Aber immerhin, wenn Trump davon spricht, "keine Witze" zu machen, muss man ihn erfahrungsgemäß ernst nehmen. Der Präsident der USA hat der Rechtsstaatlichkeit nämlich längst den Krieg erklärt. "Wer sein Land rettet, bricht kein Gesetz", postete er vor kurzem auf Truth Social. Ein Satz aus den Schriften des römischen Rechtsphilosophen und Politikers Cicero, der Trump wunderbar ins Konzept passt.

Wer stoppt Trump?

Allein, der in der Antike wirkende – und auch in diesem Kontext zu bewertende – Cicero schätzte die Rechtsstaatlichkeit und verstand, dass Führungspersönlichkeiten den Gesetzen ihrer Zeit Rechenschaft schuldig sind. Das sieht Donald Trump nicht so. Sein Antrieb liegt darin, die Grenzen des Machbaren und seiner Macht weiter und weiter auszudehnen. Um die Menschen in den USA und um das politische, demokratische System schert er sich nicht. So tickt der US-Präsident, und das ist seit Jahren bekannt. Er wird so weit gehen, wie er kommt. Und so weit, wie die USA ihn lassen.
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