Donald Trump wants to be a president-king. Forget fascism or any other term that academics want to attach to Trump’s activities; the principle is very simple. Trump wants the executive branch to no longer be an equal branch of government.
The current president wants his branch to be above the other two in terms of status and power. Trump wants to make unilateral policies and be the sole decision maker for the country.
The founders of our current system of government divided power among three branches of government and gave each other the ability to police each other to ensure that power was not concentrated in the hands of one individual.
Trump is trying to destroy that system, but beneath the chaos, much of the system has continued to hold and control this president.
During an interview on ABC on Sunday, Governor JB Pritzker was asked if he was concerned about Trump’s Justice Department coming after him.
Pritzker replied:
It’s true that the president says things and sometimes he follows through on those threats, and he certainly has the power of the presidency. He has no power to circumvent the Constitution.
And so I’m afraid? I’m not afraid. Do I think he could do it? Maybe. But like I said before, come get me.
I mean, you’re dead wrong, Mr. President and Mr. Vice President. And I will stand up for the law and the constitution. That’s what we do in the state of Illinois.
Trump does not have the power to override the Constitution, and it was another response from Pritzker about the Insurrection Act that furthered the discussion about Trump’s limits on power, which you can read below.
