With a small break in Trump's official presidential actions (one day has passed with no new executive orders that I know of), I have a few minutes to mull things over and try to figure out where we are headed.
With Trump's on-again-off-again tariffs and general economic chaos, and the incompetence of his cabinet, to the lies perpetuated by Elon Musk and DOGE, to the general sentiment of the world toward the United States, where might this be going?
Threats Against The Constitution
If we do not have the constitutional process, then we do not have freedom. If the president extends his power beyond the power granted by The Constitution, then we do not have the United States. Instead, we have a nation that calls itself the United States, which has rejected its founding document.
In the last several weeks, Trump has defied orders from federal courts in direct defiance to the constitution. The court system is currently clogged with suits. He has demanded the removal of judges who make orders against him. He has also successfully begun to persecute lawyers who take up cases against his actions and orders.
Trump's followers love his actions, even if they are unconstitutional. A recent order requires States to run their elections as Trump demands. This is an unconstitutional order, strongly supported by MAGA voters. "Don't you think we need to have more secure elections?" they will ask. If you bring up the constitution—which specifically states that States and Congress will make election rules—they will, at a minimum, imply that you don't want to have secure elections. These are the same people who claim that the Constitution is paramount and that they want to protect it. Yet, they support unconstitutional actions.
They believe that an unconstitutional order that supports their political beliefs is by its nature constitutional. This circular logic is both stupid and dangerous.
Demonization Of Targeted Classes
From Hispanic people to Civil Servants, the Administration has demonized huge swathes of American society. Right-wing media continues to cast an angry eye at Hispanic men, for example. ICE has been documented pulling over Hispanic people to review their documents—citizens, documented immigrants and undocumented immigrants—in the most blatant examples of racial profiling by federal law enforcement in this generation.
Unfounded claims that black people, other non-whites, and women have been hired and promoted despite being unqualified is another example of racism and sexism that is both unconscionable and malevolent.
Unfounded claims that the LGBTQ+ community are sexual predators is an old one, but has seen a huge resurgence under Trump.
The only people who are safe from persecution are white men who do not express any grievances over the issues mentioned in all the previous paragraphs.
Economic Chaos With Eyes Wide Open
Trump's tariff wars with the entire war have lowered consumer confidence and created chaos in businesses. Corporations have hired hundreds of thousands of people to get manufacturing orders completed and shipped, leading to overstaffing, leading to layoffs. Federal employees are left in limbo without pay.
Nations that hold treasury bonds and notes are threatening to reduce their holdings by selling them into secondary markets, which would raise levels of competition for treasury issuances and require that we offer higher rates to investors. This means taxpayers would pay higher rates.
The weekly unemployment filings have continued to increase under Trump. Corporations have fallen short on expected earnings. Gas prices are up by about 6%, despite what Trump tries to tell the public. These are just a few economic indicators.
This week, when Trump was asked whether he cared that Americans will be economically harmed by the tariffs, he said, "I couldn't care less."
He couldn't care less.
What I Think About All This
I believe the Trump administration will continue to defy courts, ignore due process, and create more chaos. They will double down on racism and sexism. They will continue to stamp out law firms who bring suits and persecute judges, universities, and other organizations that protest and defy them.
I believe we are in the "labor" stage of the birthing process of authoritarianism. Protestors will all be labeled terrorists and treated as such, eventually. Law firms will refuse to take cases. There will be no due process. Schools from primary to university will teach Trump-approved curriculum in History and Liberal Arts. Unwanted individuals will be persecuted and disappear (either because they are flown to prison labor camps or are "disappeared" by some other method).
I have a very bleak view of where we are headed.
If we can raise enough resistance, we may be able to stave off the worse aspects of authoritarianism until the 2028 election. But along with that, we also have to see enough MAGA voters turn on the movement for whatever reason to elect a president who doesn't have their eye on dictatorship. Otherwise, we will have someone worse than Trump (or maybe even a third Trump Administration), starting 2029.
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