India's Modi, livid at the legally dubious US tariffs, cozies up to Xi and Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. Will the US Supreme Court fix this global meltdown?
To suggest that Trump is intelligent presumes he has the capacity to understand, engage with, and synthesize complex information in order to arrive at thoughtful, rational solutions. In reality, his behavior is marked by impulsive, emotionally charged reactions—often driven by anger, resentment, and ego. This is characteristic not of a thoughtful leader, but of a demagogue—a role he has embraced with the support of a Republican Congress largely unwilling to act as a check on executive overreach, and a Supreme Court that increasingly enables a broad, unaccountable interpretation of executive power under the guise of constitutional originalism.
While some attempt to spread blame equally across the political spectrum, this “both sides” argument is a convenient evasion. It lets Republicans off the hook for their sustained assault on the rule of law, democratic norms, and the Constitution itself. There is no “both sides” when it is only the Republicans who are responsible.
To suggest that Trump is intelligent presumes he has the capacity to understand, engage with, and synthesize complex information in order to arrive at thoughtful, rational solutions. In reality, his behavior is marked by impulsive, emotionally charged reactions—often driven by anger, resentment, and ego. This is characteristic not of a thoughtful leader, but of a demagogue—a role he has embraced with the support of a Republican Congress largely unwilling to act as a check on executive overreach, and a Supreme Court that increasingly enables a broad, unaccountable interpretation of executive power under the guise of constitutional originalism.
While some attempt to spread blame equally across the political spectrum, this “both sides” argument is a convenient evasion. It lets Republicans off the hook for their sustained assault on the rule of law, democratic norms, and the Constitution itself. There is no “both sides” when it is only the Republicans who are responsible.