Silver Lining

If Donald Trump’s presidency is a dark cloud over America, perhaps there is a silver lining. His second term has highlighted the vulnerability of our democracy and its institutions. Our government relies on laws and the expectation that politicians will act in their constituents' interests to gain electoral support.

Three things happened, Donald Trump got elected to a second term and will not be legally eligible for a third. He is not worrying about anyone but himself. Nothing new there. Compounding this was the SCOTUS decision in Trump v. United States (2024), where the Supreme Court did not explicitly grant legal "sovereignty" to the President, but it significantly expanded presidential power by holding that presidents have absolute immunity for actions within their core constitutional powers and at least presumptive immunity for all official acts. The third thing he did was to ignore our laws and claim that everything was an “emergency” requiring him to suspend such laws as he deemed necessary.

His recent “hand slap” by SCOTUS regarding tariffs being used as a weapon and negotiating tool, has forced him to begin working around that legal ruling. It would seem all our laws have loopholes, and this president is adept at finding such weaknesses and exploiting them. Even if such loopholes are vague or don’t legally exist, he will keep trying to force his will like any authoritarian ruler.

The “silver lining,” if there is one, will only come after he is gone and we are able to enact changes that would make it difficult or impossible for a future despot to take advantage of our system. Such changes will only happen when a majority of all elected officials see that a level playing field works for both parties.

Collaboration and compromise have consistently guided us forward, even if progress is slow. As demonstrated by ICE's rapid expansion problems, speed can be detrimental. Immigration change could have been achieved efficiently, but without the loss of life and personal freedoms.

The old ways require revision, taking into account the issues seen in the current presidency. Improvement is both possible and necessary. America can be “Great” without becoming a pariah. We are better than this.