By Jay H. Ell
It is fair to say that Donald J. Trump, the USA’s 47th president, is attempting to turn a liberal democracy into a dictatorship with neocolonial ambitions. In his zeal to achieve his authoritarian goals, he is reversing the American constitutional, political, legal, economic, cultural and moral order. His “executive orders”, particularly on tariffs and deportations, and flagrant violations of the Constitution have wreaked havoc within 90 days of his inauguration. His solutions to the genocidal Russian attack on Ukraine have turned the 80-year-old world order on its head.
The American Constitution was hammered out to prevent such a crisis, but by sheer strength of personality, magnetic charisma, naked intimidation, sophistry, vindictiveness, amoral behaviour and paranoia that America is the victim of a global conspiracy that includes penguin islands, bankrupt African states as well as China but not Russia, Trump has maneuvred himself into a position where he could achieve his stated objectives.
The question is how can Trump, who holds the reins of power, be resisted? The answer has to lie in the Constitutional safeguards, the institutions, including non-governmental ones, that have evolved since the inception of the Republic, and the citizens themselves – “We The People”. The latter have to be the basis of “The Resistance”. So, how did we get here, and where are we now?
‘We The People’: the constitutional republic
The American Republic has been out there for 250 years. It is the one British colony that not only won a war of independence, but also created its own system of government ignoring the Westminster model. In so doing it created the aspirational “Jefferson democracy”. The subsequent Constitution began with the words, “We The People”. Ironically, it initially only applied to the white slave owners who wrote it, and excluded the indigenous natives.
The Constitution’s central aim was for America never to be ruled by a king. The founders built in several features that distributed power on the federal and state levels. Both the states and the federal government have three co-equal branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Their legislatures are divided into two separate chambers: Senates and Houses of Representatives. It needs to be emphasised that states have vast powers as well.
Then there were the Constitutional Amendments, the Bill of Rights, including “Freedom of Speech” which allows for all opinions and protests. Americans are enamored with the law and their judicial system, as so many TV series prove. It is, after all, the basis of the 5th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution in the Bill of Rights that “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or happiness without due process of law”. Furthermore, Jefferson proclaimed in The Declaration of Independence that “ it is self-evident that ALL men [sic] were endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights”.
Where matters stand today
The legislative branch of the federal government is the US Congress. It is a bicameral body, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Today, there are 100 Senators and 438 Representatives. Representatives are elected every two years, and Senators every six years. State elections usually coincide with federal races. City councils have their determinations every two years in non federal/state years. Half of the members of school boards are elected a year before and the other half a year after presidential election. All these thousands of elections are preceded by “Primaries”, in which the two parties elect their representatives. Then there are the interminable by-elections in all these constituencies. In sum, America is in perpetual “status electionis”. In addition, “We The People” write, call, protest, and demand town halls with their elected representatives.
While extremely powerful, the federal executive — headed by the president — is subject to constitutional limitations afforded the citizenry and the institutions that have evolved. Within the federal government there is the control of the purse and tariffs by the House of Representatives; ratification of the cabinet by the Senate; declaration of war by Congress; and the electoral process itself by the individual states. The tenets of the Constitution such as “all men were created equal” and “due process” are also overriding. Crucially the final arbiter of what is and is not constitutional is up to the judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court.
So to what extent has “The Resistance” managed to put a brake on Trump’s transparent bid for a dictatorship, with him having made it quite clear that there is no need for all these separations of power as “he alone can fix it”?
A ‘Hands-off’ rally in Rockford, Illinois, 8 April 2025. Image: Harry Carmichael on Flickr.
How is ‘The Resistance’ faring?
The Senate: The Republican Senate chamber failed catastrophically in its most important constitutional responsibility by ratifying the most enabling, lawless, callous, incompetent, inexperienced and wealthiest cabinet whose only common denominator was an undying loyalty to Donald J. Trump – “their leader right or wrong”. There are stirrings of remorse, with seven Republicans protesting Trump’s illegal tariffs on Canada and a bipartisan request by the Armed Services Committee for an investigation into Defense Secretary Hegseth’s classified information discussions on public internet channels Also there is open strong support for Ukraine in the Senate. The good news is that there are Senate elections in 18 months time, and the GOP Senate majority is only three.
The House of Representatives: The Republican-controlled House is wracked by division, and has achieved next to nothing in the first half of the year other than a general agreement that a slightly changed Biden budget continue until September 2025. There is no way on earth that they can pass a Trump budget without Democratic support. Over 20 Republicans have said that they won’t support drastic cuts to Medicaid while 70 have claimed that that they will not support anything unless it is offset by cuts. The good news is that out of a chamber of 438 members, the Republicans have majority of only four, with elections in 18 months.
The Federal Courts: As Trump hasn’t got working majorities in Congress, he has to issue “executive orders” to attempt to implement his coup over the Constitution. His more than 100 orders have been challenged in Court, and he has been on the wrong side of the law in all but a few of the cases. Until now, all the courts below the Supreme Court have been scathing at the lawlessness of the Trump administration. There have been judgements including phrases such as “bad faith”, “flagrant abuse of power” and “contempt of court”. The final arbiter is the Supreme Court – a body that has two thirds of its members nominated by Republican presidents, three of which Trump is personally responsible for.
The Judiciary are supposedly a co-equal branch of government, but the Supreme Court is reaping the rewards of the monster they created by giving a president immunity from criminal prosecution for any acts he commits in relation to his office, thereby ceding their constitutional responsibility. However it would appear that executive — i.e., Trump and his administration –are now on very thin ice. In two Supreme Court rulings where rare majorities of 9-0 and 7-2 have been recorded in which Trump was enjoined to get the return of a deportee and afford him due process and in the other litigation buses of potential deportees were turned around at 1.00am on a Saturday morning.
The bad news is that this Supreme Court obviously believes in a strong executive. The good news is that, with its strict interpretation of the actual words of the Constitution, it appears they don’t want to be messed with. The bad or good news is that the Supreme Court now has a crucial role to play in “the resistance’.
While obviously Trump’s executive orders have to be challenged in Federal Courts, they impact individuals in States. This fact gives the Attorneys-General in Democratic-controlled States “standing” to be plaintiffs in a litany of Trump’s actions to convert America into an autocracy which they have successfully executed.
How are ‘the people’ and their institutions faring in ‘The Resistance’?
Ultimately, as described above, the citizens of America, who are in very close contact with their representatives at every level have to make their voice heard. Those in office are subject to frequent elections, have infrastructures that answer queries and are responsive to calls and complaints. In addition there are several non-governmental organizations as well as places of higher learning and the social media where resistance is growing.
As reflected in previous blogs, Trump and Musk have evoked spontaneous opposition, and the Democrats have risen from the dead. The latest Pew Poll shows Trump’s disapproval rating at 59 percent with 88 percent of those surveyed believing that he should obey a Supreme Court ruling. Even worse for him is that he is deeply under water on the economy. The day-to-day protests are snowballing throughout America, and what is fascinating is that they are not only about financial, tariff and social net issues but also about freedom of speech, due process and Ukraine.
What really is interesting from a sociological point of view is that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare have become part of the American scene. They are no longer wedge issues. The change was made clear when the left-wing flag bearers of the Democrats, Bernie Sanders and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, drew hundreds of thousands in red and blue constituencies at recent rallies, at least 20 percent of whom weren’t Democrats.
Republican Congresspeople, when they show up to Town Halls, are being hammered. So much so have the traditional Town Halls become fodder for anger that the Republican National Committee has issued a memo instructing Republican members of Congress not to hold them!
There have been two national days of protest. Interestingly, neither has attempted to have millions in Washington but rather concentrated in having them held in cities, towns, hamlets throughout America. The protestors held their own home made placards in streets, Federal buildings, town squares and Musk’s Tesla dealerships.
The first national protest was organized by a new movement, “Hands Off”, in at least 1400 venues with an estimated 800,000 to 2,000,000 attending. The second a fortnight later was put together by another new organization, “50501”. This was to signify 50 protests in the capitals of all 50 states with one message. There were at least 700 gatherings throughout the country. Jay H. Ell attended both rallies at the same center and the second one had double the participants.
In the background of all this opposition is the organization “Indivisible”, which has been going since Trump 1. In 2017 it had nearly 4,000 affiliates. It has grown exponentially since, and was founded by Ezra Levin. “Run for Something”, was established at the same time but has really taken off since Trump 2, reporting that they have had 40,000 requests for advice to do just that. David Hogg at 25 years old is a veteran of protest having been a survivor of the 2018 Parkland School massacre. He has led marches of up to a million people. He now is the founder of the influential “Leaders We Deserve” and a Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Both Hogg and Levin were named by Time as two of the 100 most influential people in America.
What really is glaring is that there aren’t demonstrations or at least counter-demonstrations in support of the cult leader. Even the freed members of The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are staying at home.
With regard to the media, it is really only the social internet that matters. The traditional outlets are largely echo chambers with dwindling audiences. Some of them have already sold out in the erroneous belief that they would be the recipients of largesse. All they received were front row seats to Trump’s inaugural where if they had any shame they would have dropped dead on the spot. So the “Midas Touch” team are going gangbusters with literally up to the minute commentaries. They have overtaken Bro Joe Rogan in viewership. Not far behind is Brian Taylor Cohen and several others.
A ‘Hands-off’ rally in Rockford, Illinois, 8 April 2025. Image: Harry Carmichael on Flickr.
At the end of the day
The Resistance has only begun, and has a long way to go. To seal the deal, the Democrats have to create a relatable platform and bring in fresh young blood. They have to present a manifesto that is in tune with the times. Essentially they need a leader who can weld a coalition together. If the polls are right Americans are generally happy with the America that exists. They believe in fairness, a country that works, a social safety net and a law-and-order liberal society where there is controlled fair immigration. The majority want better lives which simplistically could be achieved by spread of the wealth they have helped create, affordable health care and an opportunity for an education that won’t cripple them financially for life.
Regardless, the country and the world are in for a chaotic ride over the next few years. America’s international position has been degraded, as it can no longer be trusted as the leader of the free world which honours its commitments and treaties. The brain drain is reversing. A small university in France advertised 20 posts for scientists and received 400 applications, mainly from the US. The skills and finesse needed to avoid a recession as a result of these scatterbrained, ever-changing, ill thought out policies, DOGE and tariffs are not currently in evidence in Trump and his cabinet.
The public arrest by FBI Director Kash Patel of a Wisconsin State Judge for allegedly not handing over in court an undocumented immigrant has only been equalled in Nazi Germany. The lack of insight of the defenders of this thuggery, particularly Fox News, who are using the argument that no one is above the law, is stunning.
Perhaps the only criticism that Trump would understand is that of his (erstwhile) billionaire supporter Ken Griffin, namely that he is “bad for America’s brand”, and that it could “take a lifetime to repair the damage”.
FEATURED IMAGE: The US Congress in Washington, D.C., the executive arm of the US federal government — part of the decentralised system of governance provided for in the US Constitution. (Wikimedia Commons)
This is an edited version of an article that first appeared on Jay H. Ell’s blog, I Write What I Like. Used with permission.