Before the election I was clear that Trump was unfit to be President based on his character: fundamentally his approach to life is that might makes right. That of course is antithetical to the rule of law on which modern societies and economies rely. So how is it going?

Well, reasonable people can disagree on policy choices, such as tariffs. The point of democracies is to be able to change policies in a non-violent manner. Then there is the grift, most notably with Trump coin. That too was to be expected given Trump's history of grift. Of course this particular approach is more problematic than the previous hawking of various merchandise since Trump coin provides a convenient vehicle for indirect bribes. But we can probably get over it in due time.

The truly deeply problematic part of Trump's presidency though is the way it is eroding the system of checks and balances. Despite having a majority in both houses of Congress, Trump is relying almost entirely on executive orders. He is placing hardcore loyalists in positions of extraordinary power, such as Pam Bondi as Attorney General and Kash Patel as the Director of the FBI. He is wholesale pardoning criminals while simultaneously attacking prior pardons. He is defying court orders. He is threatening the press. He is seizing control by labeling organizations as terrorists and by invoking the Alien Enemies act. He has others, most notably Musk, take much of the heat while also doing a lot of his bidding (unlikely to end well for Musk).

For every single one of these actions there is some rational defense on why it is warranted (e.g., we do in fact have too much bureaucracy). And so arguing against them piecemeal is not going to work. By the time one has engaged on one issue, three new issues will have sprung up. It is the overall pattern that is clearly an unprecedented power grab, coming from a man who admires dictators and claimed that he had won the 2020 election. Trump will not relent in the future unless he is defeated decisively.

What we therefore need to focus on is protecting the core pillars of the system. We must defend an independent judiciary by supporting judges who are willing to challenge the administration's most egregious overreaches. As we have seen in a recent ruling, the Supreme Court is not entirely a lost cause and so verdicts at lower levels matter.

We must also protect the integrity of the state level election process. It's easier for Trump to ignore Congress when it is controlled by Congress. Whether or not one or both of the houses can flip in the midterms depends on ensuring that elections are free and fair and of course on the Democrats getting their act together (they did deserve to lose the election).

Most of all though we desperately need a new crop of politicians with an exciting vision for the future. This is true for both parties. The old guards need to go. In that regard it is encouraging to see some people on the left starting to think about "abundance" as a goal. But the right too should be fielding candidates who believe in something beyond being a Trump loyalist. The field for inspiring visions for America and the world is wide open.

PS Illustration by Grok after ChatGPT refused to draw an image of Trump

PPS Philosophy Mondays will resume next Monday