OPINION: The difficult task of incapacitating a budding dictatorial American president

By Ivory Phillips

JA Contributing Editor

The first problem encountered in the task of incapacitating Donald Trump as a dictator is accepting the fact that he is a dictator. Many insist on assigning or cling to the idea that a dictator must be one who has absolute power and that there are no democratic processes in existence in a dictator’s society. Beyond that, many simply do not want to accept the fact that America could become a dictatorship.

Rather than argue with linguistic purists or die-hard believers in what we are all fed as education, the writer will simply point to the American Constitution and Trump’s actions as president and insist that the term dictatorial fits him. (The only concession that we would make is to say that he is just a budding dictator.)

The truth is that of America’s three constitutional branches, Trump rules the executive with an iron fist. As a matter of fact, the conservative leader of the Supreme Court recognizes the president as unchallengeable in that branch.

The current leaders of the legislative branch, the Republican majority, has continually surrendered its authority to Trump. Trump now makes laws, makes war, and even spends government funds without consulting Congress. Instead of awaiting their actions, he issues executive orders and proceeds to do whatever he wishes or had planned to do.

When it comes to the courts, Trump berates and literally threatens judges who rule against him. He then appeals his projects to the Supreme Court. At that level, which is really where it matters, the vast majority of the rulings favor Trump. Occasionally, on some matter of lower esteem Trump may get a negate decision. That, however, seems to have the appearance that the court is unbiased. The truth is that because that court’s majority is in Trump’s pocket those members endorse or support his initiatives that are dictatorial. It was that branch’s leader who stated that as president, he is immune to prosecution. With no other constitutional branch to challenge him, he is a dictator, no matter what others may want to call him.

The major question, therefore, becomes “how do we as citizens incapacitate this dictator?” Is it possible that Trump can be reeled-in before the proclaimed constitutional democracy is permanently destroyed? Every angle of the matter must be analyzed. Every tool in the tool box needs to be considered and used, in pursuit of the answer.

We can begin with the executive branch which he heads. Every executive order that is out of bounds must be challenged in court by Congress, by the states, and/or any affected parties. Each suit must be well publicized so that citizens are aware of its danger and legality.

 Along that same line, citizens need to take to the streets to protest the orders. If the protests are large enough and strong enough, they may be able to kill the orders.

Secondly, Congress must use its oversight and investigatory roles to curb and correct executive over-reaches by a dictatorial president and his lieutenants.

Thirdly, Congress can and should step in and prevent or halt the misuse of departments and agencies since Congress creates and funds them.

All three actions can derail the Trump dictatorship. The success of the actions will depend upon the strength and assertiveness of Congress and citizens. In short, the matter of ruling by executive orders and thereby doing whatever he desires can be curtailed, if not halted altogether.

This brings us to Congress. Given that virtually all Republican senators and representatives are deathly afraid of, unshakably loyal to Trump, or both, there is little likelihood they will ever re-claim Congress’ role in law-making, war power, and appropriation.

This leaves citizens with the options of publicizing and protesting Congress’ part in Trump’s initiatives (doing so in their districts) as well as organizing and voting to replace them as soon as possible. Along that same line, citizen groups need to coordinate their efforts with the Democratic Party and with governors, state legislators, and other local officials at any and every opportunity.

As it relates to the courts, one role citizens can play is that of public pressure before the hearings and protests after bad decisions. We need to remember judicial decisions are not necessarily written in stone. They can be overturned by later courts; sometimes Congress can re-write statues that then pass constitutional muster; and they can be negated by constitutional amendments.

Another role citizens can play is that of exposing and opposing judicial nominees when there are candidates appearing to be in the MAGA camp and/or supportive of Donald Trump.

Finally, if and when liberal/progressives gain control of Congress, they can expand the Supreme Court to at least 13, in order to overcome the current 6/3 conservative configuration.

We realize that incapacitating President Trump as a dictator is far more difficult than merely spelling it out on paper, as we have tried to do here.

 At a minimum, it requires coordinated actions between community organizers, civil and human rights groups, opposing political officials who are currently in office, and persons running for office.

At a minimum, it must involve massive publicity and protests, massive voter turn-outs, strategic lawsuits, and the fund-raising required for such endeavors.

Most of all, it will require the intelligence, courage, and commitment of citizens desiring to see in this space a society devoted to true human democracy rather than a veiled, or not so veiled, dictatorship of White Supremacist rule.