The Trump Administration is Teetering
Early Days in Trump 2.0 a Continuation of Chaos
There are those on the political left who are furious with Donald Trump's breakneck speed at writing one executive order after another to render Congress ineffective at making and passing legislation. California Governor Gavin Newsome, who could not prevent President Trump from sending the National Guard, from being sent into Los Angeles to prevent skirmishes among immigrants facing potential deportation. Chicago is facing a similar fate in the weeks ahead. Baltimore is already occupied with National Guard troops. All these blue - Democrat cities have experienced a drop in crime year over year. Next year's mid-terms are weighing on Trump's to maintain his momentum while the courts attempt to quash his illegal manoeuvring, that includes gerrymandering in Red state - Texas to attempt to pick up five seats. The quid pro quo is that Democrat states like Newsome's California are gerrymandering districts to gain more Democrat seats to counter Trump's Republican movement to control the mid-terms.
There is an absence of political integrity missing with Trump 2.0 where he had a better cast assembled in his cabinet with Mike Pence as V.P., Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State and John Bolton serving as National Security Advisor. As is the case with Trump, if questioned on his present policy counter to his interests, you will be replaced. Trump 2.0 finds a cabinet of polished sycophants that flatter him to keep the Republican "gravy train" rolling. From 1981 to 2021 according to Prof. Heather Cox-Richardson, "Republican policies moved more than 50 trillion from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%. Times haven't changed according to Cox-Richardson as the Republican Party continues to employ disinformation tactics, voter suppression, and gerrymandering.1
Trump & The Republicans Scorn Traditional Protocols
Regarding reports of Mr. Trump's failing health, the point that he stays up late hours posting government policy to his Truth Social platform, appear to be driving his health into the ground-puffy feet and bruised hands that he claims is from shaking too many people's hands. Though, in his attempt and the Republican Party's to steal the mid-term elections in 2026, they are doing some extraordinary things to Red States to silence their critics. Tine and again, he blames the Biden Administration for the influx of illegal migrants at the border and some who were transferred to New York and staying in hotels on the taxpayer's dime. And his point is well taken as Canada under the Trudeau government experienced the same malaise that will take years to get under control with the homelessness problem, particularly, in large urban centres. So, we get that, and it isn't a by product of extreme right or left ideology, just poor management of public policy and a desire to pack more folks into the big-tent to help them get reelected looking like good guys, along the way. The Liberal Party of Canada simply saw a Trudeau government going down in flames in 2025 and squeezed him out for Mark Carney, who has good chops from his time as Governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England. Donald Trump on the other hand, fresh off surviving an assassination attempt and clear-cut election victory in November 2025 was inaugurated in January2025. Feeling that God saved him, he has gone about dismantling individual freedoms en masse, reshaping America in a 1970s and earlier model. Trump operates with life:business/politics/ personal as a zero-sum game. There are no half measures and/or soft victories. You either win or lose with him aligning with the most successful at beating the game.
President Trump operates outside the Constitution, bypassing Congress on vital government business such as the National Guard issues, currently, while inviting President Putin of Russia to Alaska - U.S. soil and obligated to arrest him as Putin has a warrant for war crimes relating to the war in Ukraine. Rumours are circulating that Putin has some "dirty laundry" on Mr. Trump, adding fuel to the notion that Trump has withheld imposing stricter sanctions on Russia. Instead, Trump has doubled Tariffs on India for purchasing Russian energy jeopardizing India - U.S.relations, that hinge as a counter to Russia-China relations. Prime Minister Modi is in China at the SCO meetings with other BRICS members, while Xi Jinping is galvanizing support for a new leading power structure reducing American influence. Moreover, and critical to Trump's grip on Blue states, today Sept.2 Judge Breyer from California state ruled that the President and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were complicit in sending the National Guard into Los Angeles to quell minor skirmishes and further their deportation of illegals. Breyer ruled that Trump violated the Posse Comitatus Act: a 19th century law that "prohibits the use of troops for domestic law enforcement. Trump, in effect, is attempting to establish a national police force with him as the commander and chief of the unit. The ruling is a signal to Baltimore that has a National Guard presence and pending moves by the Trump Administration to roll NG troops into Chicago, that his moves are illegal and should be challenged in court by those states governors. The Trump Administration may appeal the ruling based on national security grounds, further tying up the courts with unnecessary litigation. The hallmark of Trump 2.0 appears to be a massive never ending legal battle, that is serving to divide Americans, create a smokescreen foreign policy, while cohesively strengthening authoritarian regimes scripting a new "iron curtain" with the U.S. directionless in providing the long-standing guarantor of peace that Washington is typically known.
The Trump Administration will provide, in their view, free elections, although, like authoritarian regimes, the outcome is never in doubt. Cox - Richardson compares Trump 2.0 to Viktor Orban's Hungary that may be considered "Competitive Authoritarianism." Orban has been Prime Minister of Hungary since 2010. Trump may try to modify the Constitution to allow for him to run in 2028 or undermine the vote through immigration crackdowns, an ongoing national police presence, while distracting from culpability in the Jeffrey Epstein case, that, evidence permitting, will see the end of his presidency. The White House is heavily influenced by "Broligarchs" like Elon Musk and others in the tech sector, Project 2025, that recommends "the arrest, detention, and mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, and deploying the U.S. Armed Forces for domestic law enforcement" and Steven Miller who is a political advisor to President Trump and is the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, and is the Homeland Security advisor.
There Is Always the Supreme Court
Legal issues may be catching up to Donald Trump and his Administration, as the Federal Court deemed his Tariffs imposed in April without merit without Congressional approval. The Economist commented "The crux of the dispute in VOS Selections is whether Mr Trump had the authority to issue his sweeping tariffs by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977, which allows presidents to “regulate…importation” to “deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat…to the national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States”.2
Trump could find more success by imposing tariffs on those countries running the highest trade deficits with the U.S. instead of his blanket approach that comes off as a cash grab to fund his tax cuts. No doubt, this will be he headed to the Supreme Court for an opinion where the Republicans hold a 6-3 advantage, though, this should be cited as a major over-reach by the President circumventing Congressional power. To infuse integrity into the High Court-some justices may need to abstain, while Chief Justice John Roberts may have to vote in favour of the Federal Court's 7-4 outcome. A loss here will sting Trump's momentum, and he will seek other avenues to make up for the loss of revenue to the Treasury, including having to pay back countries unfairly charged on their exports. As usual, the U.S. consumer will bear the costs of the tariffs at the checkout. Moreover, attaching the threats of tariffs to foreign policy as with Jaire Bolsonaro - Brazil's former President who is facing charges for an election loss in 2022, and plotting a coup, where Trump criticized the Brazilian legal system and hit Brazil with a 50% tariff on some exports (coffee), ought to embolden SCOTUS to act against Trump who instigated the uprising on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021 for his own election loss in 2020. American democracy is teetering.
Works Cited
1Cox-Richardson, Heather. "Cowboy Authoritarianism in America." Alternative Radio. 10 April 2025. 1 September 2025. <https://www.alternativeradio.org/products/rich001/>.
2"Trump's Tariffs Suffer a Legal Setback." The Economist. 30 August 2025. 2 September 2025. <https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/08/30/trumps-tariffs-suffer-a-legal-setback>.
