Analysis || The sense of personal omnipotence that Trump has manifested sometimes seems to be leading the US to authoritarianism. For example, they asked if you think you have to defend the Constitution; The answer was unexpected – or not, because the unexpected is Trump’s expected. And this is seriously worrying a part of America – because there is another part that celebrates all this unpredictability. Which is the part that celebrates the image that Trump shared of himself as a self -line Pope, while Catholics feel offended
Trump is acting as if the choice to obey or not to the Constitution were his
Analysis of Stephen CollinsonCNN
Americans are learning what it is to live with a president who sees no restrictions on their actions and apparently not fearing to pay any price for them.
In a series of recent political measures, legal challenges, comments and interviews, Donald Trump is showing that he is freeing from the latest limitations of customs and the long understanding of the public about how a president should behave.
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet The Press With Kristen Welker” program, which went on in full on Sunday, Trump said, for example, “I don’t know” when they asked him if he had to defend the Constitution three months after he sworn to do so.
As always, Trump’s attacks and his expansive political initiatives seemed to break normality and confuse enemies, while creating fear and the impression of an unstoppable impulse among their critics.
Trump is also honoring his supporters, delighted with his attack on what they consider to be political, legal, educational, media and military institutions since liberals. His top advisers argue that the president’s extreme actions are justified by his electoral victory and his works – for example, the containment of the southern border crossings.
But Trump’s behavior also points to the darker results of a second presidency, fueled by his conviction that he has almost uncontrollable power after a second electoral triumph that followed the fact that he has challenged his personal legal problems and overcoming two murder attempts.
Administration is repeatedly challenging the federal courts – in a case, even challenged the Supreme Court, regarding the destination of a migrant without document whose return was ordered by the Administration to “facilitate”. Trump is, however, exercising vast executive power against institutions that he wants to silence, including law firms and universities.
And its sense of personal omnipotence sometimes seems to be leading the country to authoritarianism. Trump said at NBC that he was not “thinking” of applying for a third term in 2028 – as if it were a personal choice to obey or not to the constitution on which the US democracy depends.
Even Trump’s mood is rooted in the pursuit of power
Trump’s talent for trollar also reflects his arrogance and the pursuit of supreme power.
A composite image that shared the social truth of himself in papal robes was certainly intended to enragre the critics – which their acolytes could later ridicule, saying that critics have no sense of humor. It is a family magic strategy. But the image, offensive to Roman Catholics, who see the Pope as the keys to the keys of the kingdom of heaven, is a conscious nod to Trump’s infallibility claims. It was also shared in the White House X account – thus becoming one of the most extraordinary official documents ever issued by the United States government.
And Trump’s plan for a large military stop to celebrate the Army’s 250th anniversary in June may be another sign that he is adopting the dictatorial kitsch.
It is likely that the event is the target of scrutiny beyond the cost of moving tons of troops and expensive aircraft at a time when administration is emptying the federal government to save money. Trump wants this kind of show since participating on Bastille Day, the National Day of France, in its first term. But this parade should take place on the anniversary of the commander-in-chief in June.
Monarchs organize military parades for their birthdays, but modern US presidents tend to avoid this kind of personal manifestations, which fade the notion that troops in a republic serve the people and not an omnipotent ruler. The US also has no sense to boast of its power in the type of propaganda jamborees preferred by leaders of the former Soviet Union and North Korea. But Trump said at NBC: “We have the biggest missiles in the world. We have the best submarines in the world. We have the largest army tanks in the world.” He added, “We have the best weapons in the world. And let’s celebrate them.”
This was characteristic of something growing within the administration – imply that those who feel bothered by such demonstrations of presidential power are antipatriotic, hostile to the military or without humor. This allows you to reject any concerns about the fact that Trump clings to all symbols of sovereignty.
Growing disconnections on economic policy
But Trump’s attempts to conquer power may also be embodied his political instincts.
Although their tariff policies are intended to bring back jobs and the transforming industry home and raise American workers, Trump seems increasingly oblivious to the impact of tariffs on ordinary people. This disconnection, shared by other billionaires in your office, may have risky implications for their own political luck and republicans in the interchange elections, not to mention the general economy.
For example, a few days after warning that American children could have to be content with fewer dolls and more expensive due to Trump’s trade war with China, the president implied in the NBC interview that the economy would be “good” even if it entered a recession. It also devalued the impact of impending supply chain scarcity on the population. “They don’t have to have 250 pencils. They may have five,” said Trump.
The implications of the trade war with China go beyond pencils and dolls. Unless there is an imminent advancement, US consumers will lose access to many affordable and abundant goods, such as sports equipment, shoes and clothing. This exerts a huge pressure on family budgets. Small companies that are based on importing these products can, however, go bankrupt.
This is not the first time that Trump seems removed from the difficulties of ordinary families. It continues to insist that it has dropped grocery prices, after the cost of living was an important issue in the 2024 elections. But any American buyer who goes to the supermarket knows this is not true.
And Trump insisted in an interview with the team that made “200 agreements” with nations that seek to avoid tariffs. Despite the constant promises of imminent commercial pacts that will transform the US economy, the administration has not yet announced none.
The issue of reality control by the president is important and assumes an added weight taking into account Trump’s previous attacks on former President Joe Biden due to his age and cognition.
These concerns will not be relieved by a bizarre response in your NBC interview. “We lost $ 5 to 6 billion a day with Biden. Five to six billion,” Trump told Kristen Welker, then explained her 145% tariffs over China: “We essentially cut business relationships by applying such a high fare. And there’s no problem. We’re not missing.” In other words, Trump has reduced the commercial deficit with China by completely suspending commerce, a cataclysmic option that can profoundly affect the US economy.
The president gets bored with such government demonstrations on a whim because he learned from his first term and has appointed new employees who will not challenge him. In a flattension television contest last week, members of their cabinet show that they understand that their role is to praise him. And Congress Republicans abdicated their power to control it.
“I don’t want to reduce President Trump’s influence, undermining him anyway,” said CNN’s Republican Senator Ron Johnson to Jake Tapper on the program “State of the Union” on Sunday. “President Trump has a negotiation strategy, a negotiation style. I think he’s unbalanced the whole world.”
Democratic Senator Mark Warner told Tapper that, although Republicans were willing to buy the mantra “Trust Trump” in public, they were becoming increasingly concerned in particular. Regarding the president’s attempts to empty the community of information services, for example, the Virginia senator said, “One member said, ‘Mark, you seem to our conscience.’ I don’t want to be your conscience.”
Warner added, “I think we’re coming close to them taking a step forward. But the problem will be this: How much structural damage will be done before my Republican friends find their voice and publicly express what they are already saying in particular?”
Trump also has imperial ambitions
Presidents have even more power over foreign policy than over the internal.
And Trump plans to use it.
Asked if he would use the strength to realize his expansionist projects in Gronelândia, Trump told NBC: “I do not exclude him. I do not say that I am going to do, but I do not exclude anything. No, no. We need a lot from Granelândia.”
Arctic land mass is an autonomous territory of the kingdom of Denmark. Therefore, an American invasion would not simply be illegal. It would mean the forced annexation of a territory under the jurisdiction of a NATO member across the country that once was the covenant of the alliance.
The Canadians, who have just voted on an election marked by Trump’s demands that they join the US as the 51st state, will undoubtedly be relieved to know that they do not need to fear an American blitzkrieg. “I don’t see this with Canada. I don’t see it, I have to be honest with you,” Trump told Welker.
As with Trump’s craziest aspirations, his supporters argue that critics take him out of context and ignore the business genius behind his extreme positions.
It was news that Trump excluded the use of force against Canada. This alone shows how his second term reversed what were international, legal and longtime constitutional standards.
