US President Donald Trump is provoking a US constitutional crisis, claiming sweeping powers to override or bypass the US Congress’ control over spending in a brazen attempt to centralize financial power in the executive branch.
If he succeeds, it would be a 21st-century coup — with power slipping from elected officials’ hands, Nobel laureate in economics Paul Krugman said, .
Krugman said the real story hidden behind the president’s trade war is the hijacking of government — and he is right.
By usurping the authority to shut down government programs at will — even those funded by Congress — Trump could slash federal spending and taxes while pretending to balance the books. In reality, he would be robbing the poor to enrich the wealthy.
In a world where economic jargon has been corrupted to depict exploitation as “wealth creation,” the audacity of Trump — and his lackeys — to personally profit is breathtaking. Trump’s philosophy is simple: Let the uber-rich do whatever they want, with little or no oversight. The result would be vast wealth for a select few, while life grows nastier and shorter for the many.
His plan took shape last weekend, when Trump removed a top-ranking US Treasury official who had been blocking his billionaire crony, Elon Musk, from accessing the federal payment system — exposing the sensitive personal data of millions of Americans, as well as details of public contractors who compete directly with Musk’s businesses.
The system disburses more than US$5 trillion annually, and Musk and his allies are “clearly aiming to redesign” it to serve the Trumpian agenda, Modern Money Network research director analyst Nathan Tankus wrote, opening the door for the US president to seek retribution against his political opponents.
To see the impact, look no further than one of Trump’s first moves: freezing trillions of US dollars in federal spending — particularly on foreign aid, non-governmental organizations, “diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives,” “woke gender ideology” and the “Green New Deal.”
The courts blocked the measure as unconstitutional, but not before it wreaked havoc on government agencies and nonprofits, especially those aiding vulnerable groups such as homeless veterans. Musk said he would close the US Agency for International Aid, but this remains moot as a federal body is legally required to administer aid.
Just like his trade war, Trump’s claim to “impoundment” authority — the supposed right to unilaterally halt spending — exposes the core contradiction of his power grab: He postures like a monarch because he is too weak to govern as a president. He wields tariffs at will, bypassing Congress with “national security” claims — yet cut a deal with Mexico that both sides spun as victory.
In his first term, Trump’s protectionist crusade — tariffs on China, a North American Free Trade Agreement shake-up and attacking allies’ trade policies — was sold as a revolution. Instead, it was a self-inflicted wound. His administration slapped US$80 billion in new “taxes” on Americans through tariffs, only to see supply chains reroute to Vietnam and Indonesia rather than bring jobs back home. The real cost? A 0.2 percent hit to GDP and 142,000 jobs lost, according to the Tax Foundation.
Without serious investment in domestic industry, the “America First” trade strategy did not rebuild US manufacturing — it just drove up costs. Trump’s chaos is not confidence — it is desperation. He is trying to conjure power he does not actually have. He is manufacturing a perception of dominance in the hope that Americans will simply accept it. The real danger is letting his illusion of power become reality.
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