A little bit more every day: The America we had become accustomed to in Europe is disappearing. Our America followed the rule of law at home and, abroad, it invented the "liberal international order" in 1945. It was unfaithful to it, didn't respect its own rules, but it had worked out rather well for it, and for us too. It's over now. Donald Trump doesn't want it anymore. He demolishes, he breaks, he says the "system" no longer benefits Americans, either at home or abroad. Another America is coming – one that is tough on the weak.
At home, Trump is twisting the norms and customs of American democracy. He is violating the mechanics intended by the Founding Fathers, that of a presidentialism tempered by the countervailing powers of Congress and the judiciary - all of which together form what is known in the US as "the government."
The Republican is leading the country down the path of "illiberal" democracy. The formula is well known: The winner of the elections becomes the owner of the state. The judiciary, the police, the civil service, the army, the universities: Everything belongs to him, and everyone must bow down to him. You can forget about any official mediation between the leader and "his" people.
Trump is extending the powers of the presidency beyond what any of his predecessors had ever dared. He is committed to dismantling the federal administration. Using intimidation and lies, the task is being carried out by the richest man in the world, Elon Musk. Musk operates without any mandate, within a structure outside the administration, formed by Trump and accountable to no one else. Musk's little "hackers" have obtained the payment codes of the US Treasury and have access to the personal files of millions of federal employees. What are they going to do with them?
Loyalty test
In this type of regime, the past must be rewritten or buried. At the Justice Department and the FBI, the prosecutors and detectives who investigated Trump's responsibilities in the assault on Congress on January 6, 2021, are being subjected to a loyalty test!
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