When Trump claims he can ‘do anything’ as president, he wants us to take him at his word. And unfortunately, many do. But the reality tells another story: he is largely a paper tiger whose power is checked by four distinct forces out of his control.
Replies
He has as much control as MAGA House/Senate/SCOTUS/judges/governors allow him to exercise. Doesn’t have anything to do with the law anymore. And it is very dangerous thinking to say the law doesn’t grant him powers X, Y, or Z, therefore we don’t need to worry about it.
aug 29, 2025, 6:11 pm • 0 0 • view
Bull 💩
aug 29, 2025, 1:51 am • 0 0 • view
He thinks by him having power he can give that power out to his underlings and they in turn can get as disgusting as they want no matter who gets hurt or worse.
aug 28, 2025, 10:31 pm • 0 0 • view
Totally agree. But they’re NOT checking him. So they’re the paper tiger.
aug 28, 2025, 10:22 pm • 7 0 • view
They aren’t checking him because they owe him big time.
aug 29, 2025, 2:12 am • 2 1 • view
Unfortunately this article names four forces that have so far completely failed to check his power.
aug 28, 2025, 10:26 pm • 0 0 • view
Paper is extremely flammable!
aug 28, 2025, 10:29 pm • 1 0 • view
aug 29, 2025, 4:41 pm • 0 0 • view
except...they dont stop him they enable.him
aug 29, 2025, 3:12 am • 0 0 • view
Unfortunately those forces are mostly run by complicit republiCONS. Sorry, but, that party HAS TO END in order for our the USA to regain it's pace.
aug 29, 2025, 8:21 pm • 0 0 • view
aug 28, 2025, 10:25 pm • 9 2 • view
Your military is in the streets in your country, he CAN do what he wants! It is depressing but do you really think there will be an actual midterm election?
aug 28, 2025, 10:20 pm • 1 2 • view
Yes.
aug 28, 2025, 10:21 pm • 4 0 • view
Yes.
aug 28, 2025, 10:53 pm • 0 0 • view
Sic semper tyrannis.
aug 28, 2025, 11:25 pm • 0 0 • view
This is what's crazy! Trump is claiming the right to meddle in and decide everything from news coverage to the type of energy you use to sports team names to restaurant logos to what you can do on your own porch but he can't do a single thing about gun massacres. He's all powerful and all powerless.
aug 28, 2025, 11:16 pm • 0 0 • view
George is a Dragon!
aug 28, 2025, 11:00 pm • 0 0 • view
Keep a critical eye on Vance who is preparing to take over "In case of tragedy."
aug 28, 2025, 11:07 pm • 1 0 • view
Who, as Rep. Brandon Boyles stated,has the “charisma of cardboard”. The Trumpers would wither and fall off.
aug 28, 2025, 11:15 pm • 2 0 • view
When will the press start asking the hard questions & call out the bullshit?
aug 28, 2025, 11:07 pm • 0 0 • view
TACO TACO Trump He’s going to chicken out He’s TACO Trump
aug 29, 2025, 3:05 pm • 0 0 • view
I say this over and over: Trump is at the intellectual level of a 6-year-old. He doesn't live in the real world; he lives in a reality-TV show where he's the hero. He's on a rampage now, but it will not end well for him.
aug 28, 2025, 10:30 pm • 2 0 • view
Can’t agree- I think he can an will do whatever he wants and no one will stop him..
aug 28, 2025, 10:32 pm • 0 0 • view
Only one thing to do with a paper tiger...
aug 28, 2025, 11:23 pm • 0 0 • view
Remember during tRump's first campaign run. He kept saying things like "Nobody knows more about healthcare than I do." He didn't use that during his 2nd or 3rd campaign runs. Why? We knew that he was full of Sh!t.
aug 28, 2025, 10:53 pm • 1 0 • view
Can the state call it's own National Guard to protect it from other states' National Guards called in by the predator in chief? Asking for a friend. ☺️
aug 29, 2025, 12:27 am • 0 0 • view
Until he and his sycophants manage to dismantle those forces. They've been working on it and no one is standing up to him. We still have to be vigilant against his facism.
aug 28, 2025, 10:20 pm • 1 1 • view
If it is a white man I can't trust it.. Anyways I'm going to try some 🍑 detox tea because my tummy hurts. Send free pedicures & scrubs when you get a chance! XO 💕😘
aug 28, 2025, 10:42 pm • 1 0 • view
Donald Trump is a fragile pussy like most maga men. Unfortunately, congress is soft and the Supreme Court is corrupt.
aug 29, 2025, 12:02 am • 2 0 • view
Yeah, but SCOTUS and the sycophantic Congress are screwing us over.
aug 28, 2025, 10:28 pm • 2 0 • view
Impeach this criminal pedophile!
aug 28, 2025, 10:25 pm • 1 0 • view
Trump is a weak feeble old man.
aug 29, 2025, 1:56 am • 1 0 • view
with this scum, we must be prepared for the worst, and never cede an inch.
aug 28, 2025, 10:44 pm • 0 0 • view
trump is a BAD person, a very bad person. He is a terrible president, a very bad president. You all know he is killing America and nobody seems to be doing anything about it. He is an incompetent person. He has failing health and a "brain" that is childish, sefish and spiteful. God Help America
aug 28, 2025, 10:25 pm • 0 0 • view
The Emperor wears a pamper…
aug 28, 2025, 11:03 pm • 0 0 • view
Thanks George. But I'm super worried about the combination of police & military forces. Its got a bad, bad history (as you well know). youtu.be/I10qbJXEP10?...
aug 28, 2025, 10:39 pm • 0 0 • view
Feckless fuhrer.
aug 28, 2025, 10:26 pm • 0 0 • view
I’m afraid he is successfully wresting power from those four distinct powers. If we don’t act, all could be lost.
aug 29, 2025, 5:12 pm • 1 0 • view
Fuckface trump needs to be very careful with Pritzker. His FAMILY is one THE RICHEST families in America! I don't see the Fuckface trump family on that list!
aug 28, 2025, 11:00 pm • 2 0 • view
That is just a bunch of maggots in human skin.
aug 28, 2025, 10:58 pm • 0 0 • view
aug 28, 2025, 10:18 pm • 12 4 • view
Are you sure? SC Congress = trump
aug 28, 2025, 10:49 pm • 0 0 • view
aug 28, 2025, 10:18 pm • 0 1 • view
George: Were you this opposed to Trump prior to 2015? Or did the Clinton/Dem propaganda machine capture you?
aug 28, 2025, 10:19 pm • 0 0 • view
You must be the village idiot.
aug 28, 2025, 10:25 pm • 1 0 • view
However he is being enabled by his sychophants and a corrupt Supreme Court. He is not far off saying he can do whatever he wants. He has largely been successful. Sustained protests and a legitimate GENERAL STRIKE is the only lawful thing that can slow this down,
aug 28, 2025, 10:44 pm • 4 2 • view
Unfortunately, most people remain disengaged, stupid or in support of what is happening.
aug 28, 2025, 10:44 pm • 3 0 • view
No he is not. Scotus basically said the same. A SINCERE strike, together with perhaps a strong boycott of buying a whole category of goods, etc., might get some Maga business attention.-- we need a strong leader to get it going (or more than one) which we won't find in Congress.
aug 29, 2025, 12:41 am • 1 0 • view
Sadly George, many of the MAGA movement are unable to read if they had been able to perhaps we could have avoided all this unpleasantness. Conversely if we had listened to TRUMPs FATHER we would have put that little ORANGE SHIT UNDER the JAIL Long ago.
aug 28, 2025, 10:23 pm • 0 0 • view
So true George!! He is a president on paper only, controlled by the Heritage Foundation goons!
aug 29, 2025, 1:26 pm • 0 0 • view
Can you imagine the outrage if a Democratic president said he could do anything...
aug 28, 2025, 10:55 pm • 1 0 • view
Ah. All the Constitutional measures put in place by the founding fathers -- such as outlawing bribery and corruption no less than three times -- are not kicking in because of a partisan/supine Congress. When reality does finally bite, it's going to be ugly
aug 28, 2025, 11:02 pm • 5 1 • view
When is the public to learn ? All he does is lie. About everything& everything. Non stop. He is NOT all powerful. We have ways to stop him & we better start using them NOW. That means YOU SC , Congress & states Stand up to his bull shit. He is a big pussy. He'll back down. TACO 🌮
aug 29, 2025, 3:27 pm • 0 0 • view
"Do anything" like with a 13 year old girl. Full text of "Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump child rape lawsuit | Case 5:16-cv-00797-DMG-KS" share.google/KvnIUEIPiO1B...
aug 28, 2025, 10:24 pm • 0 0 • view
The Air Force approved a military funeral with honors for Babbit. The Navy wants to give Trump a boat parade to cheer him up. These are not just random incidences, they mark a movement of the armed forces to stand behind the ideals and rhetoric of the Trump administration. This is very bad.
aug 29, 2025, 1:33 pm • 2 1 • view
📌
aug 29, 2025, 1:05 am • 0 0 • view
The emperor has no balls
aug 28, 2025, 10:23 pm • 1 0 • view
aug 28, 2025, 10:20 pm • 8 2 • view
He is a puppet controlled by powers he can’t comprehend.
aug 28, 2025, 10:28 pm • 1 0 • view
He can't do shit, there's too many people to say no, even if he throws the military at them, the people will still say no, it's not his nation to take over, and the more he and his cabal pushes, the more likely it is that they end up with the guns turning around and pointing at him...
aug 29, 2025, 4:33 am • 0 0 • view
Putin wanted Trump as President. He wanted to install a weak malleable leader, with a puppet Congress, a powerless judiciary, and a constitution not worth the paper it's written on. Putin wants a weak America destabilising the western world. Seems like everything's going according to his plan. 🤷
aug 28, 2025, 10:37 pm • 4 3 • view
The danger is that even a paper tiger can shred democracy if people believe his myth of unchecked power. Those four forces matter only if institutions and citizens insist on enforcing them. Blind faith in his words gives him more strength than he truly has.
aug 30, 2025, 3:04 am • 0 0 • view
for the time being.
aug 28, 2025, 10:18 pm • 0 0 • view
We are living under a dictatorship. History shows that once a country surrenders democratic control, it almost never claws its way back to true freedom. Look at Chile, Cuba, Russia, and so many others—the pattern is always the same. What should we do?
aug 29, 2025, 9:50 pm • 2 1 • view
Here's the Reuters article on ice morale www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
aug 28, 2025, 10:37 pm • 0 0 • view
This is a great article and important info for us all As we enter this new phase of military occupation of cities It's critical to remember non violent protesting is working. Trump wants violence to invoke insurrection - be smart
aug 28, 2025, 10:36 pm • 7 1 • view
Yep. Trump is COUNTING on provocations getting a violent response, so he can order a crackdown.
aug 28, 2025, 11:10 pm • 3 0 • view
So put him in a cage and feed him big macs until he explodes. VOTE
aug 28, 2025, 10:36 pm • 0 0 • view
The fact is that you don't want to stop him. Your constitution worths nothing
aug 29, 2025, 1:11 pm • 0 0 • view
That taco nickname really stuck Lol sad!!!
aug 29, 2025, 4:29 am • 0 0 • view
Benito Taco, he wants to get the trains running on time in Union Station.
aug 28, 2025, 11:03 pm • 0 0 • view
I wish you would identify the “four distinct services”. If SCOTUS & congress are included in the 4, I believe they should be off the list as they are either enablers or hang wringers with no power or control shown that stops the horrifying cruelty & destruction of our country & people therein.
aug 29, 2025, 12:48 am • 1 0 • view
I am anxious to see the 4 distinct forces actually do something to show us they are capable of stopping the cruelty & destruction. I don’t see any relief for people snatched off the street, hungry children, destroyed medical care, masked thugs in DC. Harsh cruelty - bring on the 4 distinct forces.
aug 29, 2025, 12:40 am • 1 0 • view
📌
aug 28, 2025, 10:42 pm • 0 0 • view
In theory, yes, but in practice, no: If the established checks and balances are corrupt or nonexistent, then Trump does what he wants, which is largely whats been happening the last seven months.
aug 28, 2025, 10:22 pm • 4 2 • view
199,000 federal workers have been fired, the NIH and the CDC have been destroyed, everyone’s private social security data has been exposed, the algorithms changed, the military reduced to toxic masculine bullshit, etc, etc, etc, He is no paper tiger. Trump is malevolent, cruel, and sadistic.
aug 28, 2025, 10:31 pm • 0 0 • view
Add Steve Miller to this shit show.
aug 28, 2025, 10:57 pm • 0 0 • view
I wish, George.
aug 28, 2025, 10:57 pm • 0 0 • view
Ohhh, I think I’ve cracked what’s happening to the US! It’s like that creepy Star Trek bug that hijacks the brainstem of top officials… or maybe aliens came like the Goa’uld-ed in Stargate.
aug 28, 2025, 11:10 pm • 0 0 • view
He has no claws, but we need him to not have a crown
aug 28, 2025, 10:18 pm • 2 0 • view
The Emperor's New Clause.
aug 29, 2025, 11:15 pm • 0 0 • view
"If the President does it, it's not illegal" didn't work out so well for Nixon, but HE didn't have his very own cult that believed he was the Orange Messiah ruling Congress and SCOTUS...
aug 29, 2025, 12:01 am • 0 0 • view
Sorry but I don't believe this anymore. His Executive Orders almost always become a reality. No checks and balances on them.
aug 28, 2025, 11:11 pm • 3 0 • view
In theory
aug 28, 2025, 10:20 pm • 1 0 • view
trump has no sense of humour, he is never joking, and is always telling people what he intends to do.
aug 28, 2025, 10:52 pm • 1 0 • view
More like a crazed bull elephant
aug 28, 2025, 10:19 pm • 0 0 • view
He's constantly testing to see what he can get away with.
aug 28, 2025, 10:18 pm • 33 2 • view
@scotusblog.com PLEASE PASS THIS POST TO THE REAL SCOTUS... WOULD YOU HAVE RULED THE SAME WAY IF THE POTUS WAS A DEMOCRAT?
aug 28, 2025, 10:26 pm • 3 0 • view
This will end in violence. Mark my words.
aug 28, 2025, 10:23 pm • 1 0 • view
Yes, but paper tigers are indistinguishable from real tigers until somebody in a position to do so strikes a match.
aug 29, 2025, 7:24 pm • 0 0 • view
Excellent article. It reminds us that dictators alone are powerless; they have power only insofar as underlings do their bidding. Ordinary people showing civil courage can defeat this monstrosity, if they do not let themselves be intimidated by a few masked thugs.
aug 29, 2025, 5:12 am • 0 0 • view
All of the GOP seems to think he has ALL the power - and they want to hand it all over to him
aug 29, 2025, 1:33 am • 1 0 • view
In theory, correct. But those other “forces” that are supposed to keep things in check bent the knee long ago. Trump calls 100% of the shots, Congress backs him, and SCOTUS allows it. Call it what you will, but this is already a dictatorship. NOTHING happens without Trump saying so.
aug 28, 2025, 10:30 pm • 0 0 • view
He’s ridiculous
aug 28, 2025, 10:20 pm • 1 0 • view
Disagree. He has troops in multiple cities and Democrats in Congress can't even say it's bad let alone fight him on it. He's cruising to autocracy unless things change, thanks to leaders like Pritzker and Newsom.
aug 28, 2025, 10:22 pm • 7 2 • view
Beg to differ on local reaction. I live in a large northern Calif city and I can tell you that my mayor and our police chief have made their opposition loudly known. Our city stands with our governor. The military are not welcome here and will be restricted to guarding federal facilities only.
aug 29, 2025, 2:19 am • 4 0 • view
California, Illinois leaders have stood up. DC's have not. Democrats in Congress call it a "distraction" instead of fighting it. Most governors observe from the sidelines instead of denouncing what Trump did to LA and DC.
aug 29, 2025, 3:01 am • 2 0 • view
It’s George Takei cautioning that Trump’s bold claims of unlimited presidential power aren’t fully true. He’s pointing out that Trump’s influence is limited by four external forces, making him less powerful than he appears.
aug 28, 2025, 10:21 pm • 1 1 • view
If my parents were alive today, this current and monumental amount of national AND global political bullshit would cause them to die.
aug 28, 2025, 11:15 pm • 0 0 • view