Nate Cohn

I thought that both in generalities and in specifics, the poll provided a lot of evidence that there was very little public support for Trump to claim an even more assertive and powerful version of the presidency than he already has.

I thought that both in generalities and in specifics, the poll provided a lot of evidence that there was very little public support for Trump to claim an even more assertive and powerful version of the presidency than he already has.

Some of this is already beginning to hurt him politically, as we talked about in the context of the Garcia case, and as we talked about with this whole idea that the president is going too far. I mean, almost every excess we're talking about are cases where the president is stretching his authority too beyond what we would have agreed in the past the president could undertake on his own.

Some of this is already beginning to hurt him politically, as we talked about in the context of the Garcia case, and as we talked about with this whole idea that the president is going too far. I mean, almost every excess we're talking about are cases where the president is stretching his authority too beyond what we would have agreed in the past the president could undertake on his own.

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.