Legal, political, and social realities are colliding with President Donald Trump’s efforts to rule the United States as though he were a monarch—his reign marked by deportation crusades, trade wars waged by whim, and a relentless disdain for constitutional boundaries.
When asked whether everyone in the US—citizen or not—is entitled to constitutional protections and due process (which they are), Trump’s reply was as chilling as it was revealing: “I don’t know”.
THE OATH AND THE OFFICE
The presidential oath reads: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
But “the best of my ability” has become an elastic excuse. Trump continues to ignore court orders, especially in immigration matters.
A striking case involves a Tufts University student detained in Louisiana after being plucked off a Boston street for writing about Gaza. A federal court ordered her return to New England to assess rights violations. Meanwhile, another student from Columbia University was released after being arrested during a campus protest. Government lawyers scrambled to halt these rulings, insisting only immigration courts had jurisdiction.
“This is a freedom of speech case, not a deportation case,” said ACLU attorney Esha Bhandari. Rümeysa Öztürk’s detention was “unprecedented and shocking”, and yet emblematic of an administration where law bends beneath ego and ideology.
MADNESS IN GOVERNANCE
In this wonderland of magical thinking, Trump’s decisions are as erratic as they are authoritarian. Agency heads are fired without warning. Logic has left the room.
Even Elon Musk, initially a Trump ally, felt the burn. Disagreeing with Trump’s tariff policy—bad news for Musk’s globally entangled Tesla—he’s since watched his company’s stock price fall by half, battered by political backlash and collapsing consumer trust.
THE FIRST LADY’S DISAPPEARING ACT
Then there’s Melania Trump. In the first 108 days of Trump’s new term, she has reportedly spent only 14 nights at the White House, her public schedule a mystery. The absence is unexplained, fuelling speculation of marital and political estrangement.
FUNERALS AND GOLF TEES
At Pope Francis’s funeral, Trump not only dozed off, but also skipped a gathering of global leaders, choosing instead to fly home for golf. As always, WIIFM—What’s In It For Me—guides his every step, an ethos handed down from his father, devoid of empathy or civic duty.
CABINET OF THE ABSURD
Trump’s administration is a circus of inexperience and misplaced priorities. Former wrestling executive Linda McMahon, now leading the Department of Education, sent an error-riddled rant to Harvard University, threatening to cut research funding due to ideological grievances. The letter, more MAGA fodder than policy, was posted to X, underscoring its true purpose: inflaming the base, not crafting education reform.
DIPLOMACY, TRUMP-STYLE
David Perdue, ex-senator and political loyalist, was appointed ambassador to China—despite lacking diplomatic experience. Trump joked about the timing, though he’d orchestrated it himself. In Trump’s world, timing, truth, and tact are all optional.
TARIFFS, SATELLITES, AND LESOTHO
After imposing a 50 percent tariff on agricultural products from Lesotho, Trump watched Elon Musk’s Starlink win the nation’s first satellite internet license. Expect that tariff to quietly vanish. In Trump’s economy, contradictions are policy.
HEALTH IN QUESTION
Robert F Kennedy Jr., vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist, now heads the Department of Health and Human Services. His Surgeon General pick, Dr Casey Means—whose medical license has been inactive since 2019—was appointed to lead the nation’s 6,000-member Public Health Service. Her brother, an HHS insider, is reportedly Kennedy’s close advisor. It’s a dynasty of pseudoscience and questionable credentials.
DREAMS OF ALCATRAZ AND HOLLYWOOD GLORY
From the Oval Office podium, Trump floated the reopening of Alcatraz, apparently inspired by a weekend Clint Eastwood movie. He soon shifted to entertainment policy, calling for a 100 percent tariff on all foreign-made movies and shows—a plan he credited to actor Jon Voight. “The Movie Industry in America is DYING,” he posted, accusing international production hubs of “stealing Hollywood”.
POPE DONALD I?
If that wasn’t surreal enough, Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the Catholic Pope—complete with official White House branding. When criticized, he deflected blame to “fake news media”. Days later, an American cardinal was actually named Pope Leo XIV. Coincidence? In Trump’s world, there’s no such thing.
FINAL NOTES FROM THE WONDERLAND
Donald Trump is neither intellectually deep nor organizationally capable, but he is a ruthless salesman with the morality of a Mumbai alley cat. His cabinet is loyal, attractive, intellectually second-tier, and alarmingly unqualified. This appeals to a swath of Americans—but that doesn’t make it right.
His net approval has plummeted by 33 points—especially among Americans who don’t usually follow the news. Perhaps they’ve begun to notice what’s unfolding.
As the Shirelles sang in 1961, “Mama said there’ll be days like this.”
In Trump’s America, it’s every day.
—The writer has worked in senior positions at The Washington Post, NBC, ABC and CNN and also consults for several Indian channels
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