Democrats have been crying foul about everything that Trump does, and there is nothing odd about it. It has been happening with every change in administration. Opposition leaders and their followers always complain about executive orders and cabinet picks. It happened with G.W. and it happened with Obama, it’s just the nature of things.
Now, if you feel that things are different this time around, you may be right, but only in the fact that Trump is broadcasting his inner thoughts to the world, via twitter. And it is because of his bellicosity that the US could go in two different ways. Authoritarian or republican. (Please note the lower-case r.)
The Democrats are worried that Trump is going to turn into an authoritarian, and the constitution is going to be ripped to shreds. They have been bombarding social media with all the horrible things that Trump could do, and are contributing aspects of all the historical wrongs to flaws in Trumps philosophy and actions. His denouncing judges is an indication that he will turn to authoritarianism. His “Muslim ban” is tantamount to Hitler’s attacks on Jews, and/or it’s indistinguishable from America’s refugee policy under FDR, which caused Jews to be turned away and sent back to the Holocaust.
With that said, are the Democrats right?
They could be, but the chances are slim.
Other populist presidents have run into the same problems in the past. Andrew Jackson ignored a Supreme Court ruling, and continued to remove American Indians along the Trail of Tears. FDR kept losing his court battles, so he decided to add more justices to the Supreme Court. So, in keeping with these two examples, it seems that Trump is partaking in a Democrat tradition of fighting the courts, and fortunately neither led to authoritarianism, so there is precedent for today.
The thing with the US is that each branch of the government holds onto their power with a tight grip. (Except for the Legislative Branch, they’ve been giving away their power like they’re going out of business.) This can especially be seen with the Judiciary and the Executive. Both think that they are the most important aspect of the system, and they are probably both right. This means that they hate it when people don’t RESPECT their AUTHORITAH!, to paraphrase Eric Cartman. Remember Antonin Scalia mouthing “not true” during Obama’s State of the Union?
This leads us to where we are today, and why Trump may be one of the greatest presidents for our republic. Now, by saying this, I’m not talking about his policies. I’m saying that his fight with the judiciary may lead to more freedoms for the people and for the states. When Trump attacks the courts, every judge hates it, even Neil Gorsuch, and this will make judges prejudicial against Trump, and his actions.
This means that instead of giving the executive branch the benefit of the doubt, like the judicial branch usually does, judges will start to question and oppose the executive. This will lead to federal courts siding with states like Washington, just to oppose Trump. When this happens, precedents will be set in favor of the states and their citizens, and will have lasting effects well past Trump’s administration.
If you love our republic, let us hope that the fight continues, because it could resurrect our ailing republic.