Trump’s Limits of Control Are Beyond Normal

Not only can the president freeze all funding amid a review, but he must also then be permitted to permanently eliminate items from appropriations statutes at a whim.

It’s a move that threatens not only a radical curtailment of Congress’ authority but imperils the separation of American civil society from the partisan tides of the White House.

The Constitution’s text is clear that Congress must authorize appropriations and the president must “take care” that those laws are “faithfully executed.”

There is no basis in constitutional text or history for the president to claim open-ended power to impound funds in the manner of the OMB memo.

Could the White House withhold relief funds before the election, and then give money to solely Republican-leaning districts?

Imagine that the White House withdraws funding from every hospital in the country providing reproductive care and abortions.

#OMB #constitution #impoudment

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📰 Trump Eyes Third Term, Tariffs, and Total Control: The Constitution Is Just a Speed Bump

💭 Donald J. Trump :

"No, I’m not joking."

📋The Third-Term Trial Balloon

In an interview that blurred the lines between autocratic fantasy and campaign strategy, President Donald Trump declared on NBC’s "Meet the Press" that he is "not joking"about seeking a third term — despite the U.S. Constitution’s clear prohibition. With an offhand remark about “methods” to circumvent the 22nd Amendment and a nod to potential ticket-rigging via Vice President JD Vance, Trump is once again testing how far America will let him go before someone — anyone — hits the brakes.

This is no longer a rhetorical provocation from a populist showman. It’s a warning shot from a sitting president who has already made friends with strongmen and made war on American norms.

📊 The Authoritarian Policy Package

Alongside his flirtation with constitutional defiance, Trump offered a glimpse into a foreign policy increasingly shaped by threats, tariffs, and transactionalism:

- Russia: Trump threatens new "secondary tariffs" on Russian oil if Vladimir Putin doesn’t play ball in Ukraine negotiations — but continues to avoid blaming Moscow for starting the war. He even called Putin a friend he “liked” and “trusted,” despite the ICC’s war crimes charges.

- Ukraine: Trump calls Zelensky a dictator, undermines the Ukrainian position at the negotiating table, and privately signals that “new leadership” in Kyiv might be a good thing. The U.S. has quietly halted cyber operations against Russian threats and cut off funding for war crimes research.

- Iran: Trump says diplomacy is ongoing, but promises “bombing like they’ve never seen before” if Tehran doesn’t agree to a deal. All carrot, then stick, then bombs.

- Venezuela and Beyond: New executive orders threaten tariffs not only on adversaries, but on any country trading with them. Welcome to the era of "secondary tariffs" — economic warfare aimed at third parties to force global compliance with Trump’s will.

💼 From Constitutional President to Global Tariff Emperor

What Trump is building isn’t just a second administration. It’s a new paradigm: a presidency unbound by constitutional constraints, multilateralism, or traditional alliances. NATO? Downgraded. EU? Mocked. Domestic opposition? Dismissed as traitors. International institutions? Ignored or defunded.

This isn’t foreign policy — it’s geopolitical shock therapy with a MAGA filter.

🤔 What Happens When No One Says No?

Legal scholars say the third-term fantasies won’t hold up. The Constitution is clear. But constitutional crises don’t begin with laws being broken — they begin when laws are treated like suggestions, and power becomes performance art. Trump’s “methods” don’t need to work — they just need to be believed by enough people for long enough to matter.

This is the test. Not of Trump. Of us.

#Trump2025 #ThirdTerm #Authoritarianism #Ukraine #Russia #Iran #Constitution #MeetThePress

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💣 “The Eternal Presidency: Bannon’s Plan for Forever”

Steve Bannon just threw American politics back into chaos. In a new interview, Trump’s former strategist said the president “will be in the White House in ’28” and hinted at a “plan” to dodge the 22nd Amendment. Constitutional limits? Just “details,” apparently.

“There are many different alternatives,” 

Bannon said.

“At the appropriate time, we’ll lay out what the plan is.”

Beyond the theater, the message was clear: Trump’s comeback isn’t a political cycle — it’s a crusade. Bannon called him “a vehicle of divine providence.” He even said Trump’s survival in politics proves he’s “an instrument of divine will.” It’s faith-based politics meets authoritarian vibes — Jesus, but make it electoral.

Trump himself isn’t helping the satire: there are already “Trump 2028” hats in the White House gift shop, and he’s openly joked — or not joked — about “methods” to stay in office. Among MAGA loyalists, the fantasy of a presidency-for-life now sounds less like trolling, more like testing the waters.

⚙️ “Destiny as a Loophole”
The pseudo-plan? Let Vice President JD Vance win in 2028, resign, and hand power back — a constitutional shell game posing as legitimacy. It’s legal theater fit for countries where strongmen never retire, just rotate chairs.

🪙 “Democracy as Brand”
Constitutional experts call the idea absurd. But that’s not the point. For Bannon, the plan is performance — a ritual to show that belief beats law. His pitch isn’t to lawyers, it’s to believers. “We had longer odds in ’16 and ’24,” he said. “We’re going to finish what we started.”

If MAGA once promised to make America great, now it promises to make it permanent. In this version of politics, elections are props, constitutions are paperwork, and history itself is just another campaign cycle waiting for renewal.

#Trump #Bannon #thirdterm #MAGA #authoritarianism #USpolitics #Constitution #ForeverCampaign

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Trump’s “Defensive Actions”: War Without Permission, Paper Without Truth

Trump quietly tells Congress the US has “resumed hostilities” with Iran — but only as “defensive strikes,” not a war.

The wording is the whole trick. If it’s “defensive actions against targets inside Iran,” the White House claims it sits snugly inside commander‑in‑chief powers and old authorizations; if it’s “war,” he would need Congress, which has already voted twice to tell him: stop or get authorization.

So the choreography looks like this: the blockade in Hormuz moves to zero hour, refuelers are in the air, targets inside Iran are hit on July 7, and only then does a formal letter go out — Friday sent, Monday “discovered,” three days in which the bombs are already working while the paper pretends to catch up.

Congress demands either an end to hostilities or a vote; Trump declares that he’s just defending American forces and “pushing back” after 47 years of Iranian “bullying.” In his own words, Venezuela proved how strong the US military is; now Iran is the next demonstration.

The punchline is the prime‑time bait‑and‑switch. The big Thursday 9 p.m. address to the nation? According to leaks, it won’t be about Iran at all, but about “foreign interference” in the 2020 election — Russia, China, whoever is convenient this week.

While actual war rolls forward under legal euphemisms, the flagship speech is devoted to a different battlefield: the one where Trump gets to paint himself as the eternal victim of enemies at the ballot box. War lives in footnotes and leaked letters; “security” lives in the TV slot.

In this configuration, sovereignty is paperwork and marketing. Congress votes, but the president bombs. Hostilities become “defense.” The Gulf turns into a live firing range and a toll road.

And when the cameras finally go live, the country is invited to worry about hacking in an old election while the current war runs as a background process, billed as routine.

#usa #iran #war #Trump #Congress #Hormuz #constitution #fakeDemocracy

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