Nate Cohn

Should he go even farther? The president faces really serious political risk, according to the poll. If he were to outright defy the judiciary, for instance, only 6% of voters said that the president should be allowed to defy a Supreme Court ruling.

Should he go even farther? The president faces really serious political risk, according to the poll. If he were to outright defy the judiciary, for instance, only 6% of voters said that the president should be allowed to defy a Supreme Court ruling.

Only 26% of voters said that the president should just do whatever they think is best, even that means going outside of the existing rules, compared to two-thirds who say that the president needs to follow the existing rules.

Only 26% of voters said that the president should just do whatever they think is best, even that means going outside of the existing rules, compared to two-thirds who say that the president needs to follow the existing rules.

And it's like that on every question. And they're not close either. We have a very polarized country. We're used to 50-50 elections. We're used to issues where the parties are, you know, between 40 and 60 percent on these kind of big executive power questions.

And it's like that on every question. And they're not close either. We have a very polarized country. We're used to 50-50 elections. We're used to issues where the parties are, you know, between 40 and 60 percent on these kind of big executive power questions.

about whether the president gets to go beyond the limits that have been imposed on presidents in the past, we're talking about a quarter of the electorate or less that's on his side. The overwhelming majority of the public is just not there for this, including, to flip the glass now to being half empty for a second, half of Republicans won't be there for him.

about whether the president gets to go beyond the limits that have been imposed on presidents in the past, we're talking about a quarter of the electorate or less that's on his side. The overwhelming majority of the public is just not there for this, including, to flip the glass now to being half empty for a second, half of Republicans won't be there for him.

That's the scenario where congressional support would quickly start to break down, I think.

That's the scenario where congressional support would quickly start to break down, I think.

Yeah, you're moving outside of the realm of public opinion here, right? Because the means by which various institutions can respond to the president may be much more limited than the public reaction against him.

Yeah, you're moving outside of the realm of public opinion here, right? Because the means by which various institutions can respond to the president may be much more limited than the public reaction against him.

So it's totally possible the president can pursue a wide-ranging agenda that goes well beyond what any president has done in the past, that the courts and the Congress fail to check him, even though a majority of the public is opposed. That's a real possibility.

So it's totally possible the president can pursue a wide-ranging agenda that goes well beyond what any president has done in the past, that the courts and the Congress fail to check him, even though a majority of the public is opposed. That's a real possibility.

Nonetheless, over the medium to longer term, this tremendous amount of public opposition to the excesses of the presidency to this point, let alone the more extreme scenarios we're contemplating, would make it very difficult for the president to sustain this kind of conduct over the longer term.

Nonetheless, over the medium to longer term, this tremendous amount of public opposition to the excesses of the presidency to this point, let alone the more extreme scenarios we're contemplating, would make it very difficult for the president to sustain this kind of conduct over the longer term.

in a world where the democrats have taken control of the house let alone if you imagine the president seeking a third term or even if he doesn't seek a third term simply if there's another republican who gets elected whether they could continue to pursue these policies like this kind of public opinion makes a lasting change like this much more difficult i think to sustain and you know i should say that when we look at this in the context of a broader rise of right-wing populist authoritarianism across the world in places like hungary or turkey or russia or india

in a world where the democrats have taken control of the house let alone if you imagine the president seeking a third term or even if he doesn't seek a third term simply if there's another republican who gets elected whether they could continue to pursue these policies like this kind of public opinion makes a lasting change like this much more difficult i think to sustain and you know i should say that when we look at this in the context of a broader rise of right-wing populist authoritarianism across the world in places like hungary or turkey or russia or india

We see that the political parties that are pulling this off are really popular. They command overwhelming support from the public. They do so when they win in the first place. They enter office with a broad coalition and often a clear majority of the electorate. And they solidify that support in office.

We see that the political parties that are pulling this off are really popular. They command overwhelming support from the public. They do so when they win in the first place. They enter office with a broad coalition and often a clear majority of the electorate. And they solidify that support in office.