“It’s Good To Be The King!”

Despite a court order, a tarp still covers the name above the entrance to The John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts that once sported Donald Trump’s name. This week the Center’s Board, consisting mostly of members appointed by Trump, voted to put Trump’s name back on the center. Under the main sign, a new sign will be added that reads “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” In addition, and contrary to the court order, the Board voted to close the Center for two years for renovations. Probably to allow Trump to cover everything in more gold plating from Home Depot. This is part of a pattern where Trump and his administration work hard to circumvent the law.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

In his increasingly bizarre behavior, Trump proves daily that he has no moral center, lies about everything, and acts like a spoiled toddler. He wants what he wants when he wants it and throws a hissy fit if he doesn’t get it. The problem is, that he is the most powerful man in the country, if not the world, and he can bring the weight of the entire U.S. government down on the head of anyone that defies him. He is cunning. Not too smart, but cunning. Like an animal stalking its prey, he is relentless and inventive in finding new ways to get what he wants. It is clearly evident that our laws are inadequate to stop a president from doing whatever pops into his head. We know now what can happen when a president has no moral compass or ethical core, but does have an over riding interest in increasing his own power and wealth. Those around Trump are using him to implement their vision of the “American Way” which is founded in the driving belief that only white wealthy Christian men are the rightful heirs to the country. Everyone else is there to serve their purposes.

Some recent events are almost comical in their banality and pettiness. Yet, they are also a direct threat to our foundational beliefs. It is just not that he is laser focused on his various vanity projects. These escapades also indicate a full-on assault bypassing the courts and the Congress. There are multiple examples that lead me to believe that Trump and his cohorts are working hard to establish his right, not just desire, to do whatever he wants.

Only a few weeks after the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump v Barbara, Trump issued an Executive Order (E.O.) attempting to restrict the rights of those born in the U.S. Even though the court was clear that the original intent of the amendment included everyone born here, with some very specific exceptions that primarily include foreign nationals in the U.S. with diplomatic immunity. Trump’s E.O. tries to squeeze as much out of the terms of the original amendment that states it applies to everyone “subject to the jurisdiction” of the federal government by expanding the number of groups he claims are not under federal control. More troubling, Trump and his main hit man Stephen Miller espoused — again!– their belief that the amendment only applies to children born to formerly enslaved people. The Supreme Court specifically debunked that belief, and yet here we are. Back to the courts, I suppose.

In March of this year, Trump signed another of his ubiquitous E.O.s, this time impacting voting rights. He had a previous attempt in 2025 that was stopped by the courts. His latest effort would essentially take from the states and Congress the Constitution’s provision that only they can set the rules for voting. Among other things, he is trying to attack mail-in voting by directing the United States Postal Service (USPS) to not deliver mail-in ballots to anyone not on an approved list provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and mandates that the states must use the approved lists to determine which citizens are eligible to vote. The DHS list of “citizens” is notoriously inaccurate (it has been for years) and it ignores the fact that such a list could be easily manipulated by agents of the Trump regime. It is clearly an end-run around previous rulings blocking Trump from dictating election rules in his previous E.O. and to circumvent the provisions of the Constitution. So far district and appeals courts have blocked this E.O. but Trump is now appealing directly to the Supreme Court on an “emergency” basis through the Shadow Docket. (The Shadow Docket is supposed to be reserved for real national emergencies, stays of imminent executions and the like, not manufactured emergencies as Trump so often tries to declare. Under the Shadow Docket there are no oral arguments, often no written arguments or signed opinions, and it can be difficult to understand the legal arguments for their decisions. Another end-run.)

Trump is also going to the Supreme Court based on a declared “national security emergency” to overturn lower court and appeals court stays to stop the construction of Trump’s nearly one billion dollar ball room. Such an attempt is yet another insult to our laws and the role of Congress. The opinion from the bench about the the case clearly delineates that Congress has the right and responsibility to approve and oversee construction projects at the White House beyond routine maintenance. (This is the same ball room that would cost no taxpayer money. Ha Ha.) Trump asserts that the National Historic Trust, the organization bringing the suit, is “TREASONOUS” (sic) and that he is entitled to do what he wants with The People’s House because, well, because he’s the president and as such, he can do whatever he wants.

One more example of his ignoring the law is the ongoing saga of the Lincoln Reflecting Pool. Charges of vandalism and other felonies were dropped after the government charged four innocent bystanders of destroying the Reflecting Pool. The prosecutor in the case said that there was no evidence of their involvement and that, indeed, it was shoddy workmanship that led to the problems. Trump went ballistic. We have now learned that the Attorney General for the District of Colombia is convening a Special Grand Jury to investigate a case. Special Grand Juries are rarely used. However, they can investigate a potential crime and issue a report, even if they find there is insufficient evidence to prove that a crime was committed. It is a perfect tool to go after anyone Trump wants to see suffer at the hands of the government. While it is currently unknown as to the reason for it, it could well be to assuage Trump’s ire over no one being taken to trial for damaging his special vanity project. Time will tell, but it is yet another example that Trump and those that feed his every desire, will look for any loop hole or quirk in the law to make someone’s or some group’s lives miserable and costly. Trump looks at E.O.s and other declarations as is if they are imperial declarations from the throne that shall not be challenged. Thankfully for our democracy, there are still people and organizations that are willing to defend our rights. Most of the time, those that challenge Trump win their cases. Unfortunately, sometimes that does not seem to matter as we have seen over the last year and a half that he will gladly ignore Congress or any court ruling that goes against him. His track record of noncompliance spans key executive actions involving immigration, federal spending, mass layoffs, agency rollbacks and more.

Beyond his toddler grievances and belief that he should get whatever he wants, there is a bigger reason for such actions. It would be easy to focus merely on the pettiness and petulance and silliness of it all. Unfortunately, whether it is Trump or his closest advisors, there is a reason for all of it. They are laying the groundwork for their authoritarian plans. There are so many of these instances that we can become inured to their significance. They go further each time in an attempt to make it seem routine, even as they work to undermine and neutralize the other branches of government. Their vision of the Unitary Executive is really about authoritarianism. Personally, I think that they are on the path to interfering with the elections in order to solidify their grip on the reins of power. I do not predict how, but it will happen. They already tried in 2020. Whether it will be voter suppression, seizing ballot boxes, declaring elections delayed due to a national emergency, or simply declaring the election void if they do not win, I think we are only limited by our imagination. ICE is fast becoming a large private para-military force on the streets ready to do his bidding. Trump in 2028 anyone? Trump “jokes” about it more and more often. Unfortunately, he may be one of those people that has no funny bone. I have never heard him be, well, actually funny. I would speculate that all of his jokes are really trial balloons. Categorize the reaction, say it over and over until people stop paying attention, declare that no one objects, and then do it.

Two more things to watch. The Treasury Department will no longer enforce the law. Specifically, the Corporate Transparency Act which passed on a large bi-partisan basis in 2021 (thanks to then Senator Marco Rubio) designed to rein in the use of shell companies to hide drug money, money laundering, and other corrupt or illegal financial transactions. Corruption can now conduct business as usual. I am sure that Trump, Inc. was sad to hear about it. But they were probably happy to hear that World Liberty Trust — a company integral to the Trump family windfall profits from cryptocurrency — was granted bank status by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) this week. With approval of bank status, World Liberty can issue stablecoins, a cryptocurrency backed by secure investments such as U.S. Treasury bonds and can be traded for U.S. dollars. Let’s see — no more monitoring of shell companies, their own bank, unaccounted for donations from private investors, unaccounted for Venezuelan oil money and on and on and on. “It’s good to be the king!” as Mel Brooks memorably said in the movie The History of the World, Part I. How brazen can they get?

By nature, I am an optimist. I do not want to dwell in the depths of the implications of Trump’s actions. However, I am also not naive. Something is going to happen, I just do not know what. I hope I am wrong. I am also surprised (disappointed?) at how many people do not realize or believe that he is systematically trying to take away our rights and traditions.

The next six months will reveal a lot about our future as a country.