President Trump has ushered in a new unprecedented and unpredictable era in the country. Given Trump’s propensity to mimic strong autocratic leaders, it is within the realm of reality that he will continue to shape American presidency as his personal fiefdom. A cursory look at the actions he has taken and the countries he has threatened since Jan. 20 is something beyond the realm of reality.
Trump is the master of creating his own reality to justify his actions.
He claimed that the United States has sent $50 million worth of condoms to Gaza. When questioned by the media he inflated the amount to $100 million. He also alluded to diversity being involved in the midair collision between a civilian passenger aircraft and army helicopter over the Potomac on Jan. 29. Both assertions were false and baseless.
He has said many times that the Chinese were operating the Panama Canal. This was his justification to possibly wrestle the ownership of the canal from Panama. And then the most absurd allegation that he leveled against Ukraine is that Ukraine started the war. He called Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator. Now it boggles the mind to reconcile the true version of history with that what Trump concocts.
He had called the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol building by his supporters as heinous. But then he started calling them patriots.
And now the Eric Adams case. The New York mayor was indicted for corruption to which he pleaded not guilty. To score points with his base and fulfill his pre-election promise to deport millions of illegal aliens, in a quid pro quo, Trump ordered the Justice Department to drop all charges against Mr. Adams in exchange for helping the administration in deporting illegal aliens.
Trump is shaping the U.S. government not through constitutional amendments or legislative actions but by presidential decrees. In a maniac frenzy he issued an unprecedented 31 presidential orders on the first day including rescinding the constitutional guarantee of birthright for those who were born in the United States. The order has been challenged, and the case is pending in the courts.
Trump had promised to shrink the federal government. He created the Department of Government Efficiency and put billionaire Elon Musk in charge and authorized him to slash the federal taskforce. Mr. Musk did that literally. Some of the actions of Mr. Musk were challenged in a court of law and outcome in some cases is pending.
To fire thousands of federal employees without cause is murky territory.
Again, dismissals have been challenged in the courts. In many agencies employees are protected through their unions, and they can’t be summarily fired. In the meantime, Mr. Musk, the unelected member of Trump team, continues to wield a menacing chainsaw, which he recently did on cameras.
The most painful dismantling was that of U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID. Established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy the agency coordinates global health and provides disaster relief, socioeconomic development, environmental protection, democratic governance, and education.
Mr. Musk has called the agency a “criminal agency” and had said that Trump has agreed to shut it down. The U.S. government spent $68 billion on international aid in 2023.
Since many of the presidential orders have been challenged, their fate would be decided by the courts. That would bring in sharp focus the struggle between the three branches of the U.S. government. Most presidents try to amass more power. But a strong Congress and honest Courts define the boundaries of presidential power.
Trump has the House and Senate in his pocket. The judges are doing their job, but the administration could ask the Supreme Court to weigh in on some of the crucial cases. How would the court with a conservative majority decide those cases is anybody’s guess. Chief Justice Roberts is destined to play a crucial role at this juncture.
Trump considers himself above the law. His recently posted an alarming quote on X, that said, “He who saves his country does not violate any law.”
S. Amjad Hussain is an emeritus professor of surgery and humanities at the University of Toledo. His column appears every other week in The Blade. Contact him at: aghaji3@icloud.com.
First Published February 26, 2025, 5:00 a.m.
