Every day, Donald Trump and his accomplices are weakening the institutional framework designed to prevent the United States from sinking into authoritarianism.
At the end of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, a prominent Philadelphia woman asked Benjamin Franklin: “Well [Doctor] what have we got, a republic, or a monarchy?” The reply from the wise Franklin: “A republic, if you can keep it.”
King Donald
Fundamentally, the American political system is not as complicated as that. Congress makes the laws, the executive enforces the laws, and the judiciary decides what the laws mean and makes sure everyone acts accordingly.
In the U.S. of Trump 2.0, Congress does nothing, Donald Trump decides which laws he will enforce (or not), and Trump decides what those laws mean, no matter what the courts say.
In short, Trump is the state. This is a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.
Neither Checks nor Balances
Where are the famous checks and balances teachers try so hard to explain to their students? Since Jan. 20, they are hard to find.
Congress has abdicated its checks on the executive. The Senate has contentedly granted Trump a cabinet of fools, sycophants and compliant billionaires to carry out his agenda of personal vengeance and institutional destruction.
Elected Republicans (and some Democrats) are petrified at the idea of crossing King Donald for fear of losing in the primaries and are afraid of threats from violent extremists. A good example of this servility is Congress’ abandonment of its power to revoke Trump’s disastrous tariffs.
As for judges, to quote “Border Czar” Tom Homan, “I don’t care what the judges think. I don’t care.” Trump and his acolytes just don’t give a damn. Tuesday morning, the president-king declared that any judge who stands in his way should be impeached. For Trump, opposing him is a crime.
This declaration prompted Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to emerge from the woodwork and defend the integrity of the bench, encouraging the president to respect the appeals process.
But appeals take an eternity, Meanwhile, mounting illegal actions are likely to have irreversible consequences. And even if the Supreme Court ultimately rules against the president, there is no indication he will abide by its decisions.
Hope?
Will American civil society be the last bastion against the dismantling of republican institutions? Maybe.
The founders were betting on the independent press to counter excesses of power, but that press is weakening before our eyes. Perhaps the stock market and other financial institutions will make policy decision-makers listen to reason, though the oligarchs aligned with Trump seem ready to accept short-term losses in exchange for the fiscal and regulatory benefits he will concede to them.
As for voters, they will not return to the polls before November 2026, and no one appears to be in a rush to listen to them in the meantime.
If Franklin were to return today, it would seem to him less and less certain that his compatriots can keep their republic.
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