Democracy Advocates Fear Trump Is Already Proving Their Warnings Correct
HuffPost
From declaring “emergencies” to pardoning the domestic terrorists who assaulted police in his name, they argue, the president is acting like an autocrat.
WASHINGTON — Just days into Donald Trump’s return to the White House, democracy advocates worry that their worst fears are already being confirmed.
Trump has declared immigration and energy “emergencies” to use extraordinary powers, even though illegal border crossings are down and U.S. energy production is at a record high. He has pardoned hundreds of domestic terrorists who assaulted police officers to advance his Jan. 6, 2021, coup attempt. He has stripped federal security details from former aides who have criticized him, even though the foreign threat against them remains. He even suggested that he might try to prosecute his predecessor, Joe Biden, noting that he had foolishly failed to pardon himself.
All of this, and it hasn’t even been a full week since he took the oath of office last Monday.
“Anybody who’s surprised by these egregious actions, well, shame on them,” said Geoff Duncan, a former lieutenant governor of Georgia who, along with numerous other Republicans, endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in the November election. “Donald Trump telegraphed them for the better part of two years.”
Trump, after a four-year hiatus, is essentially picking up where he left off in the final weeks of his first term, after he lost the Nov. 3, 2020, election, Duncan and others argue.
The New York lawmaker was referencing the former president’s warning that "an oligarchy is taking shape in America" during his farewell speech.
The republican senator also laid into former President Joe Biden for pardoning "all of his family going out the door."
He said he and Trump went through 1,600 cases and decided they were "unconstitutional."
The actor, who Trump named as a “special ambassador” to Hollywood, called Trump "daddy" on Fox News.
“They've broken the military,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), claiming they've made the U.S. military too “politicized” to win wars.
From declaring “emergencies” to pardoning the domestic terrorists who assaulted police in his name, they argue, the president is acting like an autocrat.
President Donald Trump says he’d like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Gaza Strip.
The CIA now believes the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from a laboratory.
The Trump administration has fired about 17 independent inspectors general at federal agencies.
The boy was throwing snowballs at cars with his 11-year-old friend when a car turned around and fired multiple shots, police said.
During his first term, Trump provided unwitting hilarity for eavesdroppers across the Atlantic, U.K. officials told Politico EU.
The president gave no notice to Congress of the firings as required by law.
Officials say they have recaptured the final four monkeys who escaped two months ago from a South Carolina compound that breeds them for medical research.
The 44-year-old former Fox News host is set to begin the job as the least experienced defense secretary in modern history.
Four young people told police that Melvin Rankin, 40, had chased them down and pointed a gun at them before stealing their car key.
The Colorado congresswoman reportedly thought the person was Rep. Sarah McBride, Congress' only transgender lawmaker. She later apologized.
Our neighbors to the north made it clear on social media that they would rather not join the U.S.
Walmart and other prominent brands have also recently scaled back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that are under attack from conservatives.