Local opinion: Can Trump do anything he wants?

Are you losing faith in America? Well, stop right now.

Yes, American democracy is under attack as Trump declares, “I can do anything I want!” And he’ll do whatever he can get away with. Trump, the egotistical, self-aggrandizing, opportunistic rube, doesn’t understand complexity, so he acts as if things are easy to accomplish. Still, every day, we see his failures and humiliating backpedaling on deals, while claiming to have personally ended seven or eight wars. Why not claim a dozen?

Less than half of America, 49.8% of voters, voted for him. That means 50% of Americans didn’t vote for him. In terms of the popular vote, more people cast their ballots for someone else. Trump’s margin of victory was only 1.5 percentage points, the narrowest margin in the 32 presidential races since 1900. And Trump calls his slim win a mandate. It’s a political plurality rejection.

He’s wearing us down. Trump, the “I, I, I, me, me, me” president is the mortal enemy of truth and facts. He puts himself above country, transforming America into a place where reality is banished, history erased, dissent punished, and loyalty oaths demanded. He operates without ethical oversight and makes his own rules. Lifetime factual data shows Donald Trump is a cheater. He cheats on his wives, cheats at golf, and doesn’t pay his debts. And his Supreme Court justifies his unconstitutional actions.

George Orwell warned in his dystopian novel 1984, “Those who control the present control the past, and those who control the past control the future.” Trump and sidekick Stephen Miller distort that warning to support their MAGA crusade, using censorship to manipulate news, threaten the media, erase historical records, and rewrite the past to fit the worldview of this all-powerful autocrat.

Republicans in the House and Senate shamefully neglect their duty to serve as a check and balance on the presidency. They are complicit and enable Trump’s oppression while fearing his anger and political wrath, exposing their authoritarian nightmare.

We should be ashamed of Trump. World leaders already are. No president has ever invited a war criminal into our country and greeted him on a red carpet with a firm, welcoming handshake. Trump’s pathetic ego makes him believe Putin likes him. Does Putin, the world’s butcher, have dirt or compromising photos of Trump that could damage the Commander-in-Chief’s reputation? Is our president being extorted? We see Vlad playing his Donald like a cheap banjo.

Does this look like America to you? Trump, the un-American president, prioritizes power above all else, leading the country down a costly path of financial pain, misery, and cruelty. Relentlessly, Trump seeks to control everything he desires in the U.S., with the Justice Department politicizing law enforcement, acting as his personal legal team under his command. Make no mistake: Trump, the man-child, is a lifelong greedy blowhard driven by rage and revenge — a privileged, entitled child immune to life’s hardships.

We are on the precipice of a recession, with Trump’s GOP debt bomb and tariff taxes about to detonate. America now exceeds $34 trillion in debt, with no signs of slowing down as the U.S. approaches an economic crash. Trump will try to rewrite the story of why our country is loaded with debt and stuck with his inflationary tariffs. He will attempt to hide the adverse effects of his Big Beautiful Tax Bill and his presidency’s financial weaknesses by boasting and claiming that dismantling government agencies and cutting healthcare benefits are good for you.

American democracy faces grave threats. MAGA seeks to control the people instead of focusing on elections, rights, or freedom — the foundation of America. In fact, they don’t want elections at all. We must defend our freedoms. Otherwise, Trump and MAGA won’t just win the next election — they’ll remain in power with malice for years.

But there’s the issue of time. The clock isn’t on Trump’s side. His age, health challenges, mental sharpness and the physical demands of the office raise concerns about what’s ahead and who will be in charge. The answer lies with “We The People.”