When President Donald Trump hosted the crown prince of Saudi Arabia last month, he left no stone unturned. To the traditional pomp of an official visit to the White House, the Republican leader added a few even more luxurious touches: a military flyover, a procession of black horses and long royal tables for a sumptuous dinner in the East Room instead of the typical round tables.
To White House veterans paying attention, the device looked a little familiar. Just two months earlier, the United Kingdom’s King Charles III had hosted Trump for a state visit that included, yes, a military flyover, a procession of black horses and a long royal table for a sumptuous dinner at Windsor Castle.
In his first year in office, Trump embraced the pomp of royalty while tightening his grip on power to tailor American government and society to his tastes.
Both lavishly and politically, Trump has established a new version of the “imperial presidency” that goes far beyond even that associated with Richard Nixon, who governed the United States from 1969 to 1974, for whom the term was popularized half a century ago.
The current president no longer holds back or holds back as he did during his first term; Trump 2.0 is “off-color” Trump 1.0. The gilded details of the White House Oval Office, the demolition of the East Wing to be replaced by a massive ballroom, the putting of his name and face on government buildings, the designation of his birthday as a holiday – all of this speaks to an accumulation of power with little resistance from Congress or the Supreme Court.
Nearly 250 years after American colonists ousted their king, this is arguably the closest the country has come, during a period of general peace, to the centralized authority of a monarch.
Trump takes responsibility for reinterpreting a constitutional amendment and destroying agencies and departments created by Congress. It dictates to private institutions how they must conduct their activities. He also sends troops into American streets and wages an unauthorized war on ships in the Caribbean. He still uses the law for what his chief of staff calls “accountability” to his enemies, while doling out pardons to his allies.
Trump’s reinvention of the presidency has shifted the balance of power in Washington in profound ways that could endure long after he leaves the scene. Actions that previously shocked the system can now be considered normal. While other presidents have tested the limits, Trump has exceeded them.
“His second term, in many ways, represents not only a break from presidential norms and expectations. It is also the culmination of 75 years in which presidents have sought ever more power,” said Matthew Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University.
It’s also the culmination of four years of planning between Trump’s first and second terms. Last time, he was a political novice who didn’t understand how government worked and surrounded himself with advisors who tried to curb his more extreme instincts. This time, he came to power with a plan to do what he failed to do in his first term, and with a team of loyal, like-minded officials determined to reshape the country.
“He knows exactly how everything works. He knows which strategies and tactics worked the first time and which ones didn’t,” said Jason Miller, a Trump adviser.
Strong and weak
Trump denies monarchical aspirations. “I’m not a king,” he said after millions of Americans took to the streets in “No Kings” protests in October. But at the same time, he accepts the comparison, at least partly to provoke his critics but also, it seems, because he likes the idea.
He and his team posted images of Trump in monarchical garb, including an AI-generated illustration of the president wearing a crown and piloting a fighter jet titled “King Trump” that drops feces on protesters.
For his supporters, the confirmation of Trump’s vast power is refreshing, not worrying. In a country they see in decline, a strong hand is the only way to dislodge a progressive deep state that they say has stifled ordinary Americans in favor of unwanted immigrants, criminals, globalist tycoons, under-qualified minorities and out-of-touch elites.
To his detractors, Trump is narcissistic, crude, corrupt and a danger to American democracy. He has used his position to enrich himself and his family, tarnish America’s image around the world, and enact policies that harm the very people he claims to represent.
What everyone agrees on is that Trump dominates the political landscape like none of his predecessors have done in generations, single-handedly setting the agenda and imposing his will on the rest of the system.
At the same time, he is the most unpopular president since the advent of polls. The Republican has never had the support of a majority of Americans in Gallup polls.
His current approval rating of 36% at Gallup is lower than that of all modern presidents elected at the end of a first year.
Some critics predict that Trump’s unpopularity will begin to erode his power. “It’s impressive that congressional Republicans supported him,” said former Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who broke with Trump during his first term.
“But I think that’s changing. It’s not really an example of courage, but rather looking at the electoral victories and realizing that the midterm elections are going to be very difficult.”
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