Vice President Kamala Harris and her campaign staff are in a state of panic because respected pollsters are in agreement: Momentum has shifted in favor of former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
Democratic elites know that Trump could win on Nov. 5, and they recognize that the Republican Party could run a clean sweep: securing control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. So, Democrats and the media are raising the canard that Trump is a fascist and a would-be dictator. Democrats are going so far as to compare Trump to Adolf Hitler.
That comparison is a lie. Yes, Trump is a populist with populist views on economics, immigration, and social matters, but deep down, he is a democrat with a small D. His campaign is all about winning votes. Like Harris, he makes promises that he will not be able to keep because the system of government in the United States is fundamentally based on the Constitution and the checks and balances inherent in it. A president executes laws passed by Congress. A president does not make law.
In Federalist Paper 51, James Madison explains that the structure of the Constitution is explicitly designed to prevent a dictatorship and to make sure that one branch of the government cannot become too powerful and impose its will on the other branches. The federal government is divided into three branches. Congress, the president, and the Supreme Court. Each branch of government has the power to check the other two branches. The president has the veto power. Congress has the power of the purse, and the Supreme Court says what the law is.
The Founding Fathers designed the U.S. system of government because they believed that human nature was imperfect and that elites would always seek power. Madison and Alexander Hamilton concluded that the best way to control the illegitimate pursuit of power was to use the political ambitions of each branch to check the other.
Trump can no more become a fascist dictator than he can become a generous and warm human being. He is plain speaking to the point of rudeness. He craves the limelight. And he understands the media. He knows the best way to stay in the public mind is by being outspoken and controversial. But words are just that.
If Trump is elected president, Congress, the Supreme Court, and the institutions of the U.S. will make sure that he can never rule with dictatorial powers. Congress appropriates money. Without money, Trump cannot act. The Supreme Court decides what the law is. If Trump acts outside the law, the Supreme Court will declare his illegal acts null. Just look at how the Supreme Court has reined in the imperial ambitions of President Joe Biden.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM RESTORING AMERICA
No president can rule as a dictator without the support of the military. Yes, under the Constitution, the president is the commander in chief. But the members of the military swear their allegiance to the Constitution, to the people and to liberty, and not to any would-be dictator.
Top line: Democrats are desperate. They are trying to scare the public. But the people will decide. If the people vote for Trump on Nov. 5, then he will become president, not a fascist dictator.
James Rogan is a former U.S. foreign service officer who later worked in finance and law for 30 years. He writes a daily note on the markets, politics, and society. He can be reached at [email protected].