Donald Trump’s Imperial Presidency Is Imperiled

I’ve always believed that the theory that Donald Trump is, at his core, a sulky toddler, downplays the extreme danger he poses — not just to America, but the entire world order.

After all, preschoolers who dissolve into tantrums don’t have access to the nuclear codes or despicable plans to terrorize and deport millions of people.

But last weekend, Trump certainly did his best to live up to the stereotype, throwing himself a big boy 79th birthday party, replete with tanks rolling past the National Mall, and delivering a sullen speech to a pitifully small crowd.

Despite the preposterous insistence of the White House that 250,000 showed up — with an assist from lapdog media outlets that kept assuring us the $45 million parade was “massive” — Trump knew the truth. And so did everyone else.

He knew that earlier in the day, millions had assembled across America — and even overseas — to counter his dictator cosplay and protest his corrupt power grabs at more than 2,000 “No Kings” rallies. And in the unkindest cut of all, there was a sea of signs mocking him with obese, orange caricatures bearing messages like, “No Crown for a Clown.”

Trump longs to be all-powerful like the strongmen he idolizes, where no one would dare demonstrate against him. His military parade was supposed to be a show of overwhelming force.

But God bless America, where, in spite of Trump dispatching the National Guard and Marines to stamp out opposition to his ICE shock troops in L.A., your grandma still showed up Saturday waving around her homemade “You Can’t Spell POTUS Without P.O.S.” sign.

Despite all of Trump’s attempts to incinerate the rule of law and break our democracy, we are undeterred. We are still exercising our constitutional rights. We are still standing. Our flag is still there.

Make no doubt about it: Trump is weaker today than at any point in his second term. His poll numbers are falling, even on his strongest issue of immigration — because, as it turns out, masked men roughing up mothers and snatching schoolchildren isn’t terribly popular. Neither are Elon Musk’s haphazard DOGE cuts to the V.A. and national parks.

Inflation is rising, even though eggs were supposed to be 79 cents a dozen under his presidency. That’s all made him particularly sensitive to the unpopularity of his tariffs, so he keeps delaying his plans, a phenomenon Wall Street has dubbed “TACO” — Trump Always Chickens Out.

That’s where he fails as an autocrat. While dictators historically prefer to be feared than loved, Trump can’t help himself. He craves both. And so, time and time again, he’s pulled back on some facets of his extreme agenda when his popularity nosedives.

That’s caused clashes with Stephen Miller, the ghoulish architect of his violent immigration purges that also are choking off the livelihoods of thousands of farmers and small business owners. That likely a factor in Trump’s split with Musk, who dumped all over his budget bill for not slashing programs enough and seems to be itching for the U.S. to default on its debt.

And don’t look now, but gas prices will likely skyrocket if Israel continues bombing Iran.

Even though now is a time for hope, we also may be entering a new and precarious phase, with Trump feeling increasingly cornered.

This is why electing a vile ignoramus is so dangerous. Trump creates chaos where none exists. So he is alarmingly out of his depth when confronted with real international crises such as this, as his knowledge of foreign policy consists of arbitrary authoritarian impulses and whatever Putin, MBS, or Netanyahu whisper in his ear.

It’s clear that Israel cut Trump out of its plans to demolish Iran’s nuclear program (and much of its leadership). Despite promising that he wouldn’t embroil America in overseas conflicts, Trump is now weighing a U.S. strike on Iran, much to the consternation of the isolationist sect of MAGA led by Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson.

So what accounts for Trump’s apparent change of heart? Well, we know it’s not his national security briefings, because he famously doesn’t read them. No, it’s likely because he saw his favorite Fox News hosts oohing and aahing over all of the big boom-booms in Tehran and decided to insert himself into the situation (and, of course, take credit).

Even if it’s borne out of Trump’s impotence, our entry into the conflict could be incredibly destabilizing for the Middle East — and the world.

All of that, of course, is beyond our control. That’s the terrifying reality of having a madman in the Oval Office, which is why so many of us warned that he should never be allowed to return.

What we can do is continue to stand up for democracy and build the mass movement against him. Most times, it’s exhausting work — which is why we have to savor days like Saturday to spur us on.

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