Commentary

Is He or Isn’t He?

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The following is an opinion piece by columnist Andrew Coyne originally published in The Globe and Mail on August 29, 2025. Given Donald Trump’s behaviour and the unwillingness or inability of those around him, including Congress, to exert some control over him, the issues and questions that Coyne raises in this article are particularly germane, especially in light of Trump’s continued threats against our sovereignty and our right to exist as a country.

Donald Trump is on the brink of becoming a dictator. Can he be stopped?

~ by Andrew Coyne

Donald Trump’s giant portrait hangs on the Labour Department headquarters near the Capitol in Washington, on Monday. (Associated Press)

By now it should be clear that the subjection of the United States to the dictatorship of Donald Trump is no longer a theoretical possibility or even a distant probability. It is an imminent reality.

It is not here, quite – critics of the President remain at large, the courts are still attempting to enforce the rule of law, the results of the 2026 and 2028 elections have not yet been determined – but the pieces are being put in place at astonishing speed.

To call what is happening a “slide” into authoritarianism, as if it were something anarchic and uncontrolled, would not be apt. It is more like a cementing. Having slipped back into power by the narrowest of margins, Mr. Trump and his acolytes have been steadily expanding from that beachhead, each new power serving as the means to acquire still more.

Often these powers have been acquired illegally, in brazen defiance of the Constitution. But so long as no one holds them to account for it, and so long as the administration refuses to be held to account, they become ratified by convention, or practice, or sheer nerve, the de facto rapidly congealing into the de jure.

At some point, American democracy will find it is caught, immovably, a colossus in quicksand. The question is whether it has reached that point, or, if it has not reached it yet, whether it can still avoid doing so.

The examples pile up by the day. In recent days, weeks and months, Mr. Trump and his officials have:

  • Installed National Guard troops and other military forces in the centre of major American cities, first Los Angeles, then Washington, and soon (if Mr. Trump’s threats are to be believed) Chicago, Baltimore and New York, under the guise of fighting crime. Some of the guardsmen are armed; some have been conducting arrests, for which they have neither training nor authority. The D.C. police force was likewise taken under federal control.
    • Seized thousands of suspected illegal immigrants off the streets, the snatchings carried out by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents without badges, their victims bundled into cars without markings, to be sent in some cases to barbaric foreign prison camps, in some cases to their domestic counterparts, without trial, without even charges. ICE is increasingly seen as Mr. Trump’s personal police force.
    • Initiated criminal investigations into various of Mr. Trump’s antagonists, from Letitia James, the Attorney-General of New York who prosecuted him for fraud, to Jack Smith, the special counsel who prosecuted him for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election and for his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, to John Bolton, his own former national security adviser who has since become one of his severest critics, to Adam Schiff, the Democratic Senator and lead manager on his first impeachment, to Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor who stands in the way of his desired takeover of the U.S. central bank.
    • Fired or demoted police officers and prosecutors responsible for bringing the Jan. 6 rioters to justice, having earlier issued a blanket pardon for the rioters themselves.
    • Threatened television networks whose programs or performers irritated him with suspension of their licences, or adverse regulatory rulings.
    • Extorted massive settlements from the same networks, or law firms who had acted for his antagonists, or universities he deemed too liberal, or even corporations, like Intel, he fancied a piece of.
    • Demanded Texas, Florida, Indiana and other states redraw their electoral maps, in a transparent attempt to gerrymander more Republican districts into being in time for the midterm elections; at the same time, Mr. Trump talks openly of banning mail-in ballots, while issuing executive orders demanding “proof of citizenship” for voting and requiring federal review of state electoral rolls.
    • Fired the head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics for issuing unemployment numbers that displeased him; fired the head of the Defence Intelligence Agency for issuing after-action reports on the U.S. bombing of Iran that likewise disagreed with Trumpian dogma.
    • Defied court orders with regard to various of the above.
    • Defied Congress with regard to the spending of money for the purposes for which it was appropriated by Congress, while imposing tariffs that must constitutionally be approved by Congress.
    • Issued a series of executive orders for which he has likewise no constitutional authority.
    As if to give visible signs of his intent, Mr. Trump has been furnishing himself with various of the accoutrements of a dictator, from the giant portraits that now hang on government buildings, to the gold-encrusted palace that was once the White House, to the military parade on his birthday, to the endless public displays of sycophancy he requires of his cabinet members. Indeed, he has taken in recent days to musing about dictatorship as a possibility – “a lot of people are saying ‘Maybe we need a dictator’” – as if he were not just trying out the description with the public, but habituating them to it.

Indeed, the portents are ominous. Commit violence on Mr. Trump’s behalf, and he will see that you suffer no penalty. Attempt to stop or prevent it, and he will have you fired or prosecuted. Criticize him, or represent his critics in court, and he will lean on the organization that employs you.

Think the courts will save you? He has stacked many of them, intimidated others, and will have no hesitation in ignoring those that remain. You can see him lining up a test case for the ultimate act of revolutionary disobedience, defying a Supreme Court ruling – maybe over tariffs, or illegal immigrants – and with it finally dispatching with the rule of law altogether.

Certainly he need have no worry about his own personal legal liability: the Court has already found that he is immune from prosecution, at least for acts committed in his “official capacity.” But who would even attempt to bring him to justice? The senior levels of the Department of Justice are filled with political allies or his personal lawyers.
The Congress? But both houses are controlled, narrowly, by the Republicans, and while Congresses in the past have been willing to face down a President of their own party, the current GOP is made up of individuals who either share his dictatorial world view or are too frightened of him, and even more of his followers, to stand up to him. That is only likely to grow in line with his powers.

Ah, but there are next year’s midterm elections. Mr. Trump’s approval rating is mired in the high-30s. The Senate may be out of reach, but surely the Democrats can retake the House. Then the process of reeling in Mr. Trump can begin.

But you haven’t been paying attention. What do you think all that gerrymandering is about? Why do you think Trump is ranting about mail-in ballots? What else do you suppose is being arranged at the state level, out of reach of the national media? The chances of a free and fair election in 2026 must be rated at 50-50 at best.

Suppose the Democrats do retake the House. How do they enforce their will on a President who does not recognize the legitimate authority of Congress? By appealing to the Supreme Court? But we know Mr. Trump’s view of the rule of law. How many divisions does the Supreme Court have?

And as you ponder all this, remember: It’s only going to get worse. We are still in the very early days of this presidency. Mr. Trump’s behaviour has grown steadily more outlandish throughout, trashing norms and stepping over boundaries previously considered inviolable even by him. How much more outlandish is it likely to get between now and January, 2029, when Mr. Trump’s term is supposed to end?

Emphasis on: supposed to. As others have observed, Mr. Trump has not been carrying on like someone who expects to leave office in three-and-a-bit years. (That US$200-million ballroom he is building off the White House – or perhaps the White House is off it – is a clue.) He seems entirely unconcerned by the political opposition his actions have aroused, except to revel in the possibilities for repression they open up.

So 2028 rolls around. Maybe Mr. Trump runs again, as he sometimes muses, in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Or maybe he doesn’t. Maybe the election is free and fair, or maybe it isn’t. Maybe he just stays on, indefinitely. But whatever happens, how exactly is Mr. Trump to be removed from the White House? I mean physically.

By that time he will have replaced the entire command structure of the military with his loyalists. And of the intelligence agencies. And of the FBI. D.C. will have been under martial law for three years. Who, or what, is going to arrest him?

If this sounds over the top, then again you have not been paying attention. Everything Mr. Trump does defies belief, let alone precedent. Mr. Trump’s dash for dictatorship is rapidly approaching the point of no return. So the question that has always hovered in the air is now the urgent question of the hour: How can he be stopped – before it is too late?

That Mr. Trump is bent on making himself dictator is no longer in doubt. That he is well on his way to doing so should not be. If democracy in America is to be saved, its defenders must pour all their thought and energy into devising creative ways to frustrate his ambitions. Because they are running out of options, and out of time.

49 thoughts on “Is He or Isn’t He?”

  1. This is an excellent essay. I was aware of everything you brought up but here in your post it is in one place, so I saved your link. Things are becoming pretty bad, and we seem to be losing our freedoms and democracy. One thing you mentioned that is affecting us here in Texas is the by Trump cynically requested gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is a bizarre and ugly feature of American democracy to begin with. Politicians should not select their voters; voters should select their politicians. Districts need to be competitive. We were gerrymandered from TX-32 to TX-24 in 2020. Our district look like a long snake that’s been stomped on. It is ridiculous. We also lost a very beloved congressman without any votes being cast.

    The tradition is that Texas’s congressional districts are redistricted once every decade, usually in the year after the decennial United States census. This mid-decade redistricting is unprecedented and bizarre.

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    1. Everything we’re seeing points to the accelerating erosion of democracy in your country. But what we find most startling is the lack of opposition to it. I know that there is some protest and pushback, but it’s very muted and in many regions it seems that apathy reigns. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of formalised political opposition taking the lead, either, now when they are most needed. This isn’t the U.S. that I know at all.

      Is there nothing you can do about this gerrymandering? Here it’s illegal. Electoral districts are determined by non-partisan commissions under the Electoral Boundaries Act. It’s unbelievable what’s occurring in the U.S. and it’s so bold, as well.

      A lot of people here are scared and worried about becoming the next Ukraine should Trump get control of your military.

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      1. I think the way it works in Canada is great. That’s the way it should be here. Sweden, my native country, does not have gerrymandering, but it is a different system with multiple representatives in each district selected proportionally.

        I certainly see your point about lack of “resistance”. One problem is that the MAGA cultists, I dare to call them that, are a good portion of our society, a third I would say, and they are part of our families (my family) and we already have so much division. The MAGA cultists are bamboozled, gullible and aggressive and not pleasant to talk to. Then Trump won the election after all, and the house, and the senate, and it surprised those who see the problem. Basically, I think people are confused, exhausted and has largely given up.

        I should say that there are some small victories. I am a member of a non-partisan volunteer organization called Citizens Climate Lobby. Unlike real lobbyists we don’t have any money to offer but we have 230,000 voting members. The US senate was going to impose a 25% tax on all renewable energy in addition to rolling back the clean energy tax credits. We went and talked to our legislators (+ a phone campaign) and succeeded to get many Republican congressmen on our side. They still rolled back the clean energy tax credits but the 25% excise tax never happened, against Trump’s will.

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        1. There are many people here who want electoral reform resulting in proportional representation (polls suggest about 60%) but like many other things (climate change for instance) it is now in the back burner because of Trump.

          To hear that people are exhausted and have given up is terrible, Thomas, especially when you have only 30% of the people in fact keeping Trump in place. One hope is that Trump will do something to upset that 30% (the Jeffery Epstein information, maybe?) and then you can get him out through impeachment.

          Good to hear that you were successful in eliminating the excise tax. I wish you further success with the Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

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          1. Yes, I agree. According to the Economist’s long running polls Trump’s approval rating is currently at 41%, disapproval 56%, net -14%, and the Trump supporters are extremely anti-science but if you bring up the facts, whether it is climate change, evolution, vaccines you get viscously attacked with insults instead of reason. They rule over the majority of the country with intimidation and we have so much division already. People are just tired of it.

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          2. Yes, I’ve read about how aggressive and intractable they are to the point of hysteria. And of course there’s no reasoning with them at all, only insults and vitriol which is just like their so-called leader. Trump and his followers frankly look like a bunch of thugs, goons and morons. I can understand how this situation can cause total exhaustion.

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          3. There’s a lot of propaganda, and I think there is a lot of misinformation that is deeply ingrained into some people plus the constant propaganda telling them that they are the patriots and the true Americans. For some reason the Trump quarters think I am a strong Trump supporter, so I get that propaganda in my mail and as texts every day. When you constantly tell people that they are better than others it fosters an arrogance that can backfire when challenged. Division is growing.

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          4. Yes, we’re aware here of the propaganda and Trump’s (and his followers’) attacks on the what they call “legacy” media. They’re attacking it of course because mainstream media tries to report facts. I understand one of your major outlets is now under Trump’s thumb: CBS. The parallels to Nazi Germany are breathtaking. Agreed; the longstanding American tendency – it’s been happening for at least 100 years – of believing that they are the best, brightest, biggest, etc drives arrogance and hubris and yes, it will backfire and Trump will light the match.

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          6. BTW your comment reminded me about a quote by Bertrand Russel. It was originally stated about fascists but there are some similarities : “First they fascinate the fools then they muzzle the intelligent.”

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  2. All so true. The US with their prized and highly-touted democracy is in trouble. For a country with such a complicated electoral system supposedly full of checks and balances, it is surprising how quickly it fell apart. It is scary enough to live next door to all this. I can’t imagine how scary it must be to be a freedom-loving US citizen.

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    2. Through these last eight months I’ve been surprised to learn that many of their practices are undemocratic at their core. Gerrymandering is legal, for example. I agree that the checks and balances are failing quickly and dramatically. Yes, many Canadians are worried that if Trump gets control of the military we could be the next Ukraine, but living in the U.S. right now is scary in and of itself, especially if you aren’t a Trump supporter.

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  3. A good summation Lynette and something I have been saying for some time. Why nobody is taking a step to say no is beyond me. It is a slow motion train wreck. His meeting with Putin had little to do with Ukraine. He was getting tips from his mentor. Happy Tuesday. Allan

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    1. Thank you very much, Allan. Andrew Coyne is usually spot on. I agree that U.S. opposition is muted and seemingly very disorganised and if they don’t start taking more concerted action they’re going to be living in Margaret Atwood’s dystopia. They’re not behaving like the U.S. I know. You and M are on the same page about Trump’s meeting with Putin but I think it was worse. Putin may have given him some pointers but he also screwed with Trump too and made the point that he wouldn’t be told what to do by the U.S.

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  4. Thanks for sharing this Lynette, I always enjoy Andrew Coyne’s opinion but don’t get the G&M. When you read all of this at once, it’s almost unbelieveable that this is happening in today’s world.Reminds me of much that we read about Stalin. Trump must be so angry about the China, Russia, India meeting. Maggie

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    1. You’re very welcome, Maggie. I find that Andrew Coyne is usually spot on. I agree that the preponderance of information all laid out like that is particularly scary, and yes, there are definitely shades of Stalin and Hitler, too. Putin sure made Trump look ridiculous with that meeting. Of course, there was no way he was going to take any kind of direction from Trump and now he’s part of that Shanghai conference where one of the stated goals is to build an alliance against the U.S.

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  5. over the brink — he has been “grooming” the country for this all along, and here he is: the orange Dear Leader — next, a balcony! (he already has Mussonlini’s pout)

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  7. Thanks for sharing this, Lynette. As a US citizen, I am absolutely horrified and terrified of what is happening in our country. ICE agents are nothing but thugs and bullies, and are rounding up immigrants who are here LEGALLY, shooting first and asking questions later. A young woman from New Zealand and her 6 year old son were sent to an ICE facility (aka, prison) in Texas for over three weeks, for just a minor problem with her visa. Click here to read more: https://www.newsweek.com/domestic-violence-survivor-detained-ice-us-canada-border-2111838
    Another incident included an asylum seeking family of 6 who were held for 3 weeks in a cell with 1 bed and 1 toilet. The diabetic, pregnant mom was in her 3rd trimester and their teenage child became suicidal.
    These things, and all the other unconscionable things trump and his cronies are doing keep me awake at night and extremely frightened for the future of our democracy. I try to go about my daily routine, but it’s always, always on my mind. If it wasn’t for my daughter and son-in-law, we would have already moved back to France.

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    1. You’re welcome, Tricia. Andrew Coyne is usually spot on. I know about this case of the New Zealander and her son being detained at the border as it was publicised here. I saw that a court has adjudged Trump’s use of the military for policing to be illegal. And of course Chicago is pushing back against him but how long can they last? I think Trump will likely ignore the courts and if he does, your democracy is really under water.

      From here, it seems as though ICE is Trump’s version of the Brownshirts. What we’re hearing is appalling and we’re so concerned for the safety of our American friends and family, Tricia. Our government has now posted a warning about the concerns around crossing into the U.S. I never thought I would live to see such a thing.

      I would suggest bringing your daughter, son-in-law and yourselves here (the government is apparently working on creating a new immigration class for Americans wanting to leave Trump’s U.S, but that’s going to take time), but many Canadians are now concerned that if Trump gets control of your military we might be the next Ukraine.

      As much as we are concerned about Trump’s designs on us I can’t imagine living in the U.S. right now. Good luck to all of us, Tricia.

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      1. I’ve used the term Brownshirts multiple times recently to describe the ICE agents, it’s appalling. I would love to move to Canada. My daughter is a writer so she can live anywhere; our son-in-law is an aerospace engineer, so if he could find a job there, we’d move in a heartbeat. Yes, good luck to us all. Thanks, Lynette.

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    1. You’re very welcome. 😊 Agreed, Belinda. As Margaret Atwood warned Danielle Smith in Alberta (re the book banning in Alberta schools): she should be careful otherwise she might wind up wearing a blue dress. 😉

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  9. Andrew is spot on, as are all the comments. I seriously doubt that there will actually be an election. I had never heard of gerrymandering. It seems crazy to me; law abiding Canadian that I am!

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    1. His columns are usually very good reading and he’s very non-partisan, also. He’ll skewer whatever colour politician he thinks needs a good set down.

      I agree, Bernie. I think that in another couple of years Trump will have completely gutted all democratic institutions and will be permanently glued to that chair in his office. That of course brings up all kinds of terrifying possibilities for us, too. Gerrymandering is illegal here. Through all this Trump authoritarianism I’m beginning to realise how fragile the American democracy is but I guess when you get right down to it all democracies are fragile, at least to some degree.

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        1. I think in his case it’s on purpose. Agreed, he has poor self-esteem from childhood and inside knows that he’s a greedy, power-chasing moron, so to feel better about himself he has to step on everyone else, especially those who really are a lot better than him. This also explains why he’s chasing the Nobel Peace prize. Ugh.

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  11. Thanks for sharing. It is particularly alarming how there seems to be no accountability for his actions and that he has so much power to influence and alter many important institutions, laws and foundations that are the backbone of society. It will definitely get worse before it gets better (if it gets better).

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    1. He doesn’t have as much power as he says or thinks he does; he’s usurping the U.S. constitution to do what he wants. The big concern is that the U.S. Congress is not checking him like they’re supposed to (they’re scared of him, it appears) and if he decides to ignore court rulings then there’s no question that he’s nothing more than a dictator.

      I agree that it’s going to get worse before it gets better but is that “getting worse” part going to include military attacks against us? There’s no doubt that if he gets control of the U.S. military that he will try to take us, Greenland and Panama.

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      1. Or he blames things on AI. It’s very unsettling to hear how little accountability or consequences there are for his actions. And I try not to think too much about what Trump *could* do because he’s so unpredictable and volatile. Nothing is rationale.

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        1. Agreed, Linda. He’s incredibly dangerous because of all that volatility and unpredictability, to say nothing of how greedy, vindictive and petty he is. I don’t see any redeeming qualities in him at all. Yes, thinking about what he “could” do is a bit of a hornets’ nest.

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  13. I Think Donald Trump Is on the same level as Jim Jones, Anton LaVey, David Koresh, Alexandrian Wicca, Charles Manson, Alex Sanders, Shoko Asahara, Baron Samedi, Marshall Applewhite, Guede Nibo, David Berg, Grigori Rasputin, Warren Jeffs,

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