The Trump Dictatorship Continues

Today's post is going to be a bit of a hodgepodge, I am afraid, because there are so many things that I want to address. The common theme is the increased authoritarianism of cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump. Every day, he takes new actions to reinforce the perception that he views himself as a dictator, rather than a president. Trump even mused this week that "A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we’d like a dictator.’" The guardrails have been off of this presidency since Trump was sworn in for his second term. However, in recent days, Trump has abandoned almost any adherence to the rule of law. His is governance by whim, the rule of a mad king.

To begin, I would like to bring attention to an article titled, "America Tips Into Fascism" by Garrett Graff. Graff very astutely captures the period in which we find ourselves:

The United States, just months before its 250th birthday as the world’s leading democracy, has tipped over the edge into authoritarianism and fascism. In the end, faster than I imagined possible, it did happen here. The precise moment when and where in recent weeks America crossed that invisible line from democracy into authoritarianism can and will be debated by future historians, but it’s clear that the line itself has been crossed.

Graff goes on to convincingly outline how, step-by-step, America has embodied the boiling frog metaphor until "you wake up one morning and our country is different." We now live in a country in which armed military units from states led by governors loyal to Trump are patrolling a city led and inhabited by the President's opponents. Not at the request of local leaders, but in direct opposition to their desires. It is a country in which federal law enforcement is used to target Trump's enemies. We now live in a country in which masked agents, wearing neither uniforms nor any identification, seize individuals off the street and shove them into unmarked cars before taking them away to unidentified locations. It is a country in which the President bullies major corporations into offering the government part ownership and in which the President forces other companies to pay unconstitutional taxes. The U.S. is now a country in which the President faces no checks on his power because the other two branches of government have abandoned their own constitutional duties.

As a resident of Washington, D.C., I am seeing most of the Trump dictatorship play out right before my eyes. We now have armed National Guard troops patrolling our streets. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seizures of anyone thought to be undocumented are so prevalent that this week a popular home maintenance company that has provided service to several of our neighbors started refusing to accept work in the District "for the safety of their crew." There are random roadblocks popping up around town, stopping every car and frequently detaining drivers. Former Fox News television judge Jeanine Pirro, now serving as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, is determined to implement Trump's strongman vision. She has ordered prosecutors to seek federal charges whenever possible and to argue in favor of detainment. The result is a bunch of low-level activities ending up in the federal court system. This includes the "sandwich guy" who threw a sub into the armored vest of a federal agent. Despite his offer to turn himself in, the government sent a group of nearly 20 heavily armed and armored federal police to his home to stage an arrest that could be videoed. He is now facing federal felony charges. Pirro attempted three times to indict a woman for taking video of ICE agents attempting to seize a man who had just been released from the D.C. jail. Three times the grand jury refused to indict. A federal judge just dismissed a weapons charge because "It is without a doubt the most illegal search I've ever seen in my life. I'm absolutely flabbergasted at what has happened. A high school student would know this was an illegal search." Prosecutors themselves asked that the case be dismissed. Daily, federal officials brag about the number of arrests. What they don't talk about are convictions. Those arrested on immigration charges simply disappear.

As for Trump, he has continued his mad king routine. He has threatened to withhold federal funds from D.C. unless the District changes its policy on cashless bail. The District's policy has been in place for 30 years, which has included periods of low crime, and was modeled on an existing federal law. But regardless of the merits of the policy, Trump's threat shows a total disregard for the law. As anyone who has ever taken a basic civics class should understand, money is appropriated by Congress. The executive's job is to spend it. As such, if Trump withholds Congressionally appropriated funds, he will be in violation of the law. Trump has already lost several court cases dealing with similar cut-offs of funds. With regard to the deployment of the National Guard, Trump seems to have found his latest shiny object. Just as he raises, lowers, or otherwise changes tariffs on a nearly daily basis depending on his mood and attitude towards other countries, he is now threatening to deploy National Guard units in response to governors making him angry. He has been threatening Chicago while trading insults with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. Trump first said about the Illinois Governor that "He ought to spend more time in the gym, actually," apparently referring to Pritzker's weight. Pritzker responded by saying "It takes one to know one on the weight question" and that "He’s the kind of bully that throws invectives at people, because he knows that what he’s saying is actually commentary on himself." Trump also threatened to send troops to Baltimore after he engaged in a similar feud with Maryland Governor Wes Moore. Trump wrongly took credit for money appropriated to rebuild the Key Bridge and then threatened to illegally withhold it.

Yesterday, Trump took another dangerous step by announcing that he had fired Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve's board of governors. Not only does this put the Federal Reserve's independence in question, but the move directly contradicts a recent Supreme Court decision. In response to an application for a stay in "Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, Et Al. V. Gwynne A. Wilcox, Et Al," the Court said that "The Federal Reserve is a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States." The Court's support of the Federal Reserve's independence suggests that Trump will have to strictly adhere to the law when it comes to dismissing Fed governors. In the case of Cook, she has not been convicted of any crime or any other transgression that would constitute "cause" for firing.

As I have repeatedly written, Trump's intervention in Washington has nothing to do with combating crime. Rather, crime is simply a pretext that allows Trump to exercise his dictatorial tendencies. He desperately wants to be a strong man ruler in the mode of Kim Jong-un, who, I might mention, Trump praised yesterday during a meeting with South Korea's president. Last week I referred to a report that Trump was considering the creation of a National Guard "Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force." In an executive action yesterday, Trump ordered the creation of such a force. In addition, he ordered that a unit of the D.C. National Guard be established "that is dedicated to ensuring public safety and order in the Nation’s capital." Trump appears to be quite certain that there will be public unrest in the near future. I wonder how he can be so sure? It also looks like Trump's reliance on the National Guard to keep order is going to be for the long term. America has not historically been a country in which law enforcement is carried out by military units deployed on city streets. Trump appears to be planning to change that.