DEMOCRACY WATCHWhy Are We Surprised by the Trump-Putin Alliance? | Trump, Putin and the Authoritarian Take on Constitutionalism | Only 6% of Gen Z Actually Favor Dictatorship – Not Half, and more
· Why Are We Surprised by the Trump-Putin Alliance?
· Trump Is the Kinglike President Many Feared When Arguing Over the U.S. Constitution in 1789 –and his Address to Congress Showed It
· In Trump’s Washington, a Moscow-Like Chill Takes Hold
· One Word Describes Trump
· Judge Questions Constitutionality of DOGE, Musk’s Role
· 3 Ways Trump Is Acting Like a King and Bypassing the Constitution’s Checks and Balances on Presidential Authority
· Trump, Putin and the Authoritarian Take on Constitutionalism
· Only 6% of Gen Z Actually Favor Dictatorship –Not Half, as Some Reports Would Have You Believe
· Trump Administration Sets Out to Create an America Its People Have Never Experienced − One without a Meaningful Government
· Donald Trump Should Not Replace Us with His Stooges, Warns a Fired Inspector-General
· Musk and Republican Lawmakers Pressure Judges with Impeachment Threats
· Can Elon Musk Find Any Fraud Before Trump’s Base Notices the Con?
Why Are We Surprised by the Trump-Putin Alliance? (Maciej Kisilowski and Anna Wojciuk, Foreign Policy)
MAGA’s ideology aligns more closely with authoritarianism than liberal democracy.
Trump Is the Kinglike President Many Feared When Arguing Over the U.S. Constitution in 1789 – and his Address to Congress Showed It (Maurizio Valsania, The Conversation)
If there are any limits to a president’s power, it wasn’t evident from Donald Trump’s speech before a joint session of Congress on March 4, 2025.
In that speech, the first before lawmakers of Trump’s second term, the president declared vast accomplishments during the brief six weeks of his presidency. He claimed to have “brought back free speech” to the country. He declared that there were only two sexes, “male and female.” He reminded the audience that he had unilaterally renamed an international body of water as well as the country’s tallest mountain.
“Our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again,” Trump asserted.
The extravagant claims appear to match Trump’s view of the presidency – one virtually kinglike in its unilateral power.
In Trump’s Washington, a Moscow-Like Chill Takes Hold (Peter Baker, New York Times)
A new administration’s efforts to pressure the news media, punish political opponents and tame the nation’s tycoons evoke the early days of President Vladimir V. Putin’s reign in Russia.
One Word Describes Trump (Jonathan Rauch, The Atlantic)
A century ago, a German sociologist explained precisely how the president thinks about the world.
Judge Questions Constitutionality of DOGE, Musk’s Role (Michael Stratford, Politico)
The judge said that it’s possible DOGE is running afoul of the appointments clause of the Constitution, which generally requires federal agencies to be run by Senate-confirmed officials.
3 Ways Trump Is Acting Like a King and Bypassing the Constitution’s Checks and Balances on Presidential Authority (David Lopez, The Conversation)
In civics classes in school, we learned, Congress passes the laws, the president administers the laws, and the courts interpret the laws.
This elegant but simple system stood in contrast to the nearly unshackled power of the British king, who ruled over the American colonies before independence.
