Donald Trump is forever accused of showing too little respect for the US constitution. Given its feebleness in containing him, isn’t the larger problem that liberals show too much? More hope is put on the separation of powers, on the famous checks and balances, than such frail things can bear.
Consider Congress. It is the least trusted institution in America. Its Republican members are so deep in Trump’s pocket that most voted not to ratify Joe Biden’s election win in 2020. At a rate his predecessors never did, Trump invokes emergency measures, without much resistance from the legislature. Or take the judiciary. Trump has appointed a third of the Supreme Court, which has gone on to construe his powers and privileges generously. (Let’s see if it extends the favour to the next Democratic president or if some jurisprudential epiphany strikes the bench at that point.) As for the federal executive itself, Trump gets to appoint 4,000 or so people to it, not just the cabinet and their immediate deputies.
You will notice that little or none of the above is illegal. Before he violates a single rule, Trump can bend the state to his whim. What does that say about the state? Even if his tariffs or his attempted sacking of the Federal Reserve governor this week was outside the law — the second matter is bound for the court — such breaches are a small part of his overall command of the system.