Trump takes a backhoe to pretty much everything, including guardrails

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We are in the midst of extraordinary times right now in America. I personally know people who think everything is fine – they think the big issue we face is just that Democrats don't have a messaging strategy (they don't, and that's part of the problem) and Trump's just doing what he said he'd do (very true! Trump lies about a lot of things, but not about his goals for an "I alone can fix it" presidency.) However, none of this is fine and none of this is normal political discourse or behavior. 

What's clear - we have a president without any guardrails or checks or balances. We have the Roberts Court to thank for much of this - John Roberts' immunity ruling is a travesty of justice, allowing the president unconstitutional unchecked powers because the six ideologues on the court wanted to protect a president's right to act without fear of prosecution. How "originalists" can twist themselves into this pretzel is essentially unknowable, IMHO, but here we are. 

The reality is that since he assumed his second term as president, Trump has been acting without restraint and that he's been lawless in his actions is quite appalling and terrible for our nation. And thanks to Roberts and his five conspiracists on the court, there is no accountability any more for when a president breaks the law. 

(I am always wondering how Roberts views the lawless actions of Trump, but that his Shadow Docket supports most of the lawless actions of Trump, it appears our Chief Justice is pleased with his work to provide immunity for a lawless man.) 

Congress could rein him in, but the GOP-controlled House & Senate have shown a preference for revering the lawless actions of this president, instead of holding him accountable for breaking the law. It's as if all of our elected Republicans think they swore an oath of allegiance to Trump instead of the Constitution. The most underreported story of the 21st century is that one of the two American parties has abandoned the Constitution and the rule of law. 

What's happening in Chicago is absolutely terrifying to witness. War came to Chicago in September in the form of masked ICE thugs, armed to the hilt, who, since their arrival in Chicago, have been disappearing people (citizens and noncitizens alike) off the streets. 

                                   ICE in Chicago on 09/19/25 - photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images


They invaded a dilapidated apartment building, broke down doors, vandalized the apartments and zip-tied many of the inhabitants until they could find out the real criminals (apparently done without judicial warrants.) They have attacked peaceful neighborhoods; scooped up nannies at the playground; arrested US citizens and teargassed people near schools. The violence of ICE is leading to school lockdowns. A man whose daughter is battling cancer was arrested for being "illegal" and the judge ruled against the feds and ordered him released. 

Last week, Trump destroyed the East Wing of the White House. People I've talked to on the right feel that no one really cares about this particular story; but a lot of other people I know absolutely do care that Trump tore down a historic wing of the White House (after first claiming he would not touch it) to build a garish, ugly, tacky ballroom we don't need using "donations" paid out by oligarchs like Tim Cook of Apple. Quite frankly, if the corporate donors have enough money to donate corporate funds to the ballroom project, they should be taxed at a higher rate. Oligarchy is a terrible look for a democracy. 

Trump also has been ordering extrajudicial killings of people on boats near Venezuela and apparently we're planning to go to war for Venezuela's oil or to change out the leadership or to stop drug production soon. No one seems to know why we're stockpiling warships near that beleaguered nation. So much for the dream that generals would rein in the lawless excesses of this president. 

Over at the House, Speaker Mike Johnson, a man with no bank accounts (how does he deposit his paycheck?!), has canceled all sessions since Sept. 19 - apparently either to put pressure on Democrats to end the shutdown or because he's unwilling to welcome the House's newest member, Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva, who will be the final vote to release the Epstein files. We know that representing voters and releasing the Epstein files are not GOP goals. 

In less than a year, Trump's income has skyrocketed too – up $3 billion since 2024, according to Forbes. Not bad for a man who "donates" his salary. Who cares about the emoluments clause when Hunter Biden is out of the picture? What does SCOTUS call this? Thanks to the Roberts Court, bribes are now fairly legal if they are called "gratuities." Sigh. 

So let's see if I've captured all we've seen recently from this power-mad man:
  • Extrajudicial killings in international waters
  • War games near Venezuela, offering up the threat of regime change for that country
  • Terrorizing Chicago, LA and Portland with violent ICE thugs
  • Conducting an illegal and destructive search in an apartment building in a Black neighborhood in Chicago
  • Terrorizing school children with teargas and lockdowns in Chicago 
  • Destruction of a national historic structure to build a ballroom that will dwarf the White House
  • Massive gains in Trump's personal wealth in 2025, thanks to "gratuities" from grateful oligarchs and others seemingly interested in Trump's "quid pro quo" approach to governing
Looking at this list I realize I forgot at least one other thing: Trump is demanding $230 million in reparations for himself because he had been investigated for inciting violence at the Capitol on 1/6/21 and for stealing classified documents (both cases were dismissed after the Roberts immunity ruling, but there was plenty of evidence that he was guilty of both charges.) Without any guardrails, it seems likely that his lackeys will be handing over millions of our tax dollars to this man to reward him for getting away with breaking the laws of our nation. What will stop them from doing this? Absolutely nothing. 

2025 is turning out to be one hell of a year. It's sickening to see Trump take a backhoe to our Constitution, just as he took a backhoe to the East Wing. His is the most destructive presidency in US history, but for Republicans, at least he's delivering on his promises. And in that we see no pushback from those in his party, the elected officials within the GOP have all apparently signed on for Trump's violent ride into authoritarianism. 







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