this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2025
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These scholars pointed to other Trump actions they say blatantly broke the law, such as freezing trillions of dollar in federal spending and dismissing members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), even though they were confirmed by the Senate and had several years left in their terms.

“Without any doubt Donald Trump is the most lawless and scofflaw president we have ever seen in the history of the United States,” said Laurence Tribe, one of the nation’s leading constitutional scholars and a professor emeritus at Harvard Law School.

Tribe said Trump has carried out “a blitzkrieg on the law and the constitution. The very fact that the illegal actions have come out with the speed of a rapidly firing Gatling gun makes it very hard for people to focus on any one of them. That’s obviously part of the strategy.”

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[–] [email protected] 130 points 1 week ago (3 children)

If you can't hold someone accountable for their actions in a court of law, there is no law.

[–] [email protected] 87 points 1 week ago (2 children)

This is what he learned in the 8 years since he was first elected. That laws aren't real and no one wants to enforce then. When you impeach someone twice and nothing of consequence happens, of course they stop fearing consequence.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 week ago (1 children)

He learned his lesson, just not the one anyone wanted him to learn.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This is why I take a behavioral science lens to so much of politics. They will learn the lesson you teach them. This is why principles are so important and shouldn't be partisan or ignored.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 week ago

It's so simple that it's kind of maddening that so few people get it.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Also, the dude isn't going to live much longer. He probably figured he'd turn the crazy up to 11 and tear off the knob, because why the hell not?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

Fingers crossed.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

From your lips to gods ears

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

If he dies and JD-Vance replaces him do you expect any improvements?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

No, not necessarily. At this point, everything is so very compromised in his favor, they might make Dear Leader a martyr for just stroking out after his last hamberder and try to put images of his stupid mug on everything, who knows. Ronnie Raygun was HATED when he left office and the cons did everything to try to restore that image (putting out stickers/buttons, even: "Stop lying about the 80s", they pleaded). They even managed to rename an airport after that criminal.

Now that they have captured nearly everything, they might try to do the same to the orange dickhead, and might even be able to pull it off.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I mean, there's definitely still law. Just for little people with no resources.

"Law and order" was always code for "brutalize the minorities because we can."

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago

Fines have always been code for "you must be this rich to play."

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

Eventually you are left with the law of force

[–] [email protected] 57 points 1 week ago

Convicted Felon elected to Presidency continues doing crimes

[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_and_awe

Shock and awe (technically known as rapid dominance) is a military strategy based on the use of overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force to paralyze the enemy's perception of the battlefield and destroy their will to fight.

The Shock Doctrine, Milton Friedman's "Economic Shock Treatment."

The tools of oppression finally worming their way home to the USA. The CIA did this to other countries countless times.

[–] cyborganism 35 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Yeah but who's gonna impeach him?

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Even if they do it a third time, whos gonna vote to convict him? Who's going to enforce it? There simply aren't any consequences for him.

[–] cyborganism 7 points 1 week ago

Exactly. He's got Congress and the supreme court. Ain't no one gonna do anything.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Who’s going to actually enforce the impeachment.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

Oh wouldn't it be something to see, say, the 101st airborne dragging him out of the white house bunker while he yells orders at the secret service to defend him.

[–] cyborganism 2 points 1 week ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

Congress! Oh wait...

[–] nova_ad_vitum 2 points 1 week ago

Americans actually have to get hurt to build the political will for that and we're nowhere near that now. Most Americans are sleepwalking.

[–] cygnus 28 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Don't worry folks, the rest of the US just need to tell Trump "hey, that's illegal!" and he'll stop. If you need proof, just look at all the other times in history that dictators' plans have been blocked by the courts.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

It feels like he is just trying to overwhelm opponents and the courts with a massive barrage of violations. It takes months or even a year for these things to work their way through the system. In the meantime he can slow them down and just keep enacting his edicts. By the time anyone stops him he could've had them going for months.

He also knows his supporters are so disconnected from reality and slaves to conspiracy theories that he can do anything and deflect it and his supporters will nod in agreement like trained seals.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

I think you're right but it's easy to forget the onslaught of scandals he was reported on having during his last administration. By the time he lost the election it was multiple scandals per week.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago
  1. All checks and balances rely on integrity
  2. Pack courts with loyalists as much as possible
  3. Do whatever you want
[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Who could've fucking predicted this?! So crazy (I'm leaving the US)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Have any good suggestions on where to go?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago

Scotland is looking decent these days

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

This was kind of how he operated in the business world too, even before politics, sliding from one controversy to the next but profiting off the attention/hype.

It’s a sinister talent of Trump. A lot of people write him off as an idiot, but that’s dangerous, as historically this is his thing.

Point being… yeah, we should have seen all this coming.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

He is a useful idiot. He knows his position well, the dangerous part is the people behind the scenes, calling the plays. Billionaires, white supremacists, Christian extremists, and corporate interests.

The US was traded for a profit before I was born, they just aren't trying to hide* it anymore

(Edit: Spelling)

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 week ago

When you're the president, they let you do it! Grab 'em right in the rule of law.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 week ago

It's easy to do unconstitutional things when you haven't read the constitution and have only been president once before

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago

Don't use words like Blitzkreig. It gets Elon all excited and he starts seig heiling everywhere.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

🐸 Nigel is the pot a little warmer today?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Don't worry, we're only making plans for Nigel. Oooohhh.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

We only want what's best for him...

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

If only there were a way to stop something like this from happening before it happened. Like, oh, I don’t know….

Something like rationally informed voters? Wait! stay with me here. I know that “rationally” part hangs in the air like a lead balloon, but bear with me on this….

So, these rationally informed voters would do stuff like- pay close attention and keep track of the key differences between the candidates, while at the same time, using the aforementioned rationality to better understand that confusing and bothersome concept that unfortunately, there will never be a perfect candidate, or a perfect campaign- for that matter- but that there will be a clear and easy choice between the two once everything is considered.

If only we had some more of these, we could have avoided this and elected the better candidate. And once the better candidate was elected, we then could have worked as a nation towards having them reduce the number of things we were not in support of, or at the very worst- we would have just lived in status quo from the last four years- which, as the rationally informed voters could tell you, was without a doubt, a paradise in comparison to what’s about to happen…..

If only….

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

I think the sickest part is Republican congress nodding along for fear of retribution, personal gain, or even drinking the Kool aid. And Democrats essentially having no voice because, from the perspective of casual viewers, partisan complaining is what they always do, and now that it’s serious, it’s tuned out.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Yeah, with emphasis on the German.