Donald Trump is a paradox wrapped in a punchline. Somehow, this man — twice impeached, oft-indicted, nearly assassinated and visibly allergic to the Constitution — clawed his way back to the presidency, even winning the popular vote.
And then he promptly squandered it.
Within just 100 days, Trump has managed to waste the kind of political capital that more competent authoritarians would kill for (and some literally have). Instead of rolling the nation into a soft-serve autocracy while “the resistance” fumbled with its laces, he tripped over his own.
CloseThank you for signing up!
Subscribe to more newsletters here
The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Opinion newsletter SubscribeTrump seems to be governing with a shrewd “how to be an authoritarian” list, checking off targets: the courts, the media, academia, his own party, the legal profession, the military — all intimidated or co-opted.
And yet ... he’s bad at it. Like, really bad.
Almost every modern president misreads his mandate. It’s practically an American tradition. But Trump? He took that tradition to a new low. Tariffs, deportations and the DOGE cuts were his opening salvos, each a masterclass in political faceplanting.
Why the misfires? I have theories.
Trump’s 2024 campaign was a carnival of contradictions. He built a sprawling, internally incoherent coalition of MAGA diehards, libertarians, militarists, isolationists, union guys, online trolls, the anti-“woke,” prosperity preachers, farmers, crunchy health nuts and terrified suburbanites.
A mix like that might win you an election; governing, though, is a different beast. Once you have to deliver on your promises, reality shows up with an invoice.
Take the tariffs. Trump promised lower prices and higher trade barriers — goals that cannot exist in the same economy. He picked the option that makes groceries cost more. Stupid.
Then there’s immigration. Americans want a secure border, sure. But instead of basic competence, we got an ideological fever dream courtesy of the likes of Stephen Miller. The administration’s deportation strategy was equal parts overreach and chaos. It was so cruel and slapdash, it left the public wondering: Is this malicious or just incompetent?
When people are asking whether your governance model is sadistic or slapstick, you've probably lost the plot.
If Trump really wanted to pare back the federal government and win hearts while doing it, he could have done it surgically, with a scalpel. Instead, he opted to wield a chainsaw. And the weird thing is that many of Trump’s own voters are catching the shrapnel.
Let’s talk DOGE. Elon Musk might be heading for the exits, but the damage he has done keeps multiplying. Among the many stories to come out in recent days, one involved the decision to cut approximately 40 percent of grant funding for AmeriCorps.
This week, I spoke with Jamelyn C. Tobery-Nystrom, a professor at Frostburg State University, who runs a small but vital program providing childcare and early education support to struggling but resilient families in Hagerstown, Md. — a very Trumpy part of an otherwise blue state.
On Friday night, she got the call every program director dreads: AmeriCorps was abruptly shutting down all grant-funded operations. Three young women — a single mother, a cancer survivor and a teenager working her first real job after surviving a difficult childhood — were suddenly out of their positions.
These three women were once promised scholarships for their service, but now face the prospect of getting nothing. And because AmeriCorps classifies them as “volunteers,” they aren't even eligible for unemployment benefits.
The women weren’t just punching a clock; they were the backbone of a childcare program that allows parents to attend GED classes, driver’s education and job training sessions.
And it gets uglier. Tobery-Nystrom told me her program had already prepaid AmeriCorps for service stipends and education awards that now may never materialize. She’s left wondering: Where is the money? “What is DOGE doing with the funds?” she asks.
So much for eliminating “waste, fraud and abuse.”
This isn’t an isolated case. AmeriCorps cuts will cause “a devastating blow to the state of Wyoming,” according to ServeWyoming Vice Chair Andrea Harrington.
Meanwhile, in West Virginia — a state so Trumpian it practically bleeds MAGA red — FEMA won’t help with post-flood recovery.
These aren’t coastal elites. A lot of these folks bought what Trump was selling. And now they’re discovering that his return policy is “go pound sand.”
The public is sending a similar message to Trump, delivering very unflattering approval ratings as he “celebrates” his first 100 days. For those who worry about Trump’s authoritarian tendencies, this public reaction should be a welcome surprise.
On a recent episode of the New York Times’s The Daily podcast, Nate Cohn pointed out that in other countries suffering from democratic backsliding — such as Hungary, Turkey and Russia — right-wing populist authoritarianism proved popular in its execution.Why the difference here? Cohn argued that America’s democratic traditions are too deeply rooted to allow Trump-style strongman politics to take root.
Maybe. But I think the reason is simpler — and sadder.
Trump isn’t failing because America’s culture and institutions are too strong. He’s failing because what we’re experiencing isn’t a leader who can make the trains run on time; it’s more akin to the world’s most corrupt HOA meeting, scaled up to the executive branch.
This is a leadership style that Jonathan Rauch has described as “patrimonialism.” It’s government as a loyalty rewards program — which is excellent at enriching family and cronies, but awful at doing literally anything else.
So if you’re worried about Trump amassing unstoppable power, here’s your consolation: He is probably too incompetent to pull it off.
Matt K. Lewis is a columnist, podcaster and author of the books “Too Dumb to Fail” and “Filthy Rich Politicians.”
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Trump is proving too incompetent to be an authoritarian )
Also on site :
- Get an email about a ‘Lopez Voice Assistant Class Action Settlement'? Here's why
- Did India target Pakistan's nuclear site at Kirana Hills? IAF reacts
- PHOTOS: Travis Kelce Spotted Heading to Taylor Swift's Apartment