King Donnie the First

by Kirk Thompson, Stevensville

It has been interesting to hear about the “No Kings” protests locally and nationally. While I share the concerns, the US Constitution provides for a powerful executive with all military power under his control. Congress and the courts have no military power to enforce anything, but depend on the willingness of the president to obey the Constitution. Thus the person elected as president can choose to be a constitutional president as the founders intended or he can be king if he chooses.

Before the 2024 election, Trump gave many indications that he had no use for the Constitution, and would prefer to rule as king. He promised that if people voted for him they would not have to vote again. A majority of voters supported him. In a democracy, you can elect a king, but you cannot un-elect him, as kings serve for life. We should not be surprised by King Donnie the First.

As King, he has dramatically increased his personal wealth, as he can get wealthy people and corporations to donate to him for government favors, pardons, and special treatment. In fact he can easily exceed the wealth of Musk, and become the first trillionaire, simply by suing the taxpayers for $1 trillion, then ordering his Justice department to settle out of court. With that settlement, he can then order his Treasury department to write him a check for $1 trillion (tax free, of course), borrowed from the taxpayers and added to the national debt.

The White House was built as a residence for the president. It is completely inadequate for a king. So do not be surprised if Trump starts to tear down the White House and build more suitable space for a king. Perhaps he will remove the statue of Lincoln, and replace it with a giant golden Trump, so future Americans can revere the man who replaced our inefficient, messy, rule-of-law democracy with an efficient law-by-ruler monarchy.

One remaining issue is the order of succession, which is not spelled out in the Constitution. Historically this goes to the king’s family, so we may see Trump’s son as King Donnie the Second in our future.