Zack Beauchamp

So the argument is that Trump's central goal of his administration, he wouldn't put it in these terms, but I think that it's sort of pretty fair to say that this is what their policies indicate towards, is changing the American regime.

So the argument is that Trump's central goal of his administration, he wouldn't put it in these terms, but I think that it's sort of pretty fair to say that this is what their policies indicate towards, is changing the American regime.

Turning what was a democratic government and has long been a democratic government into some species of non-democratic government in which power is wielded primarily through the executive with basically few checks. And potentially, even down the line, the fairness of elections is compromised. That part's speculative.

Turning what was a democratic government and has long been a democratic government into some species of non-democratic government in which power is wielded primarily through the executive with basically few checks. And potentially, even down the line, the fairness of elections is compromised. That part's speculative.

But we can say that there's an attempt to reconfigure the constitutional order without having to amend the Constitution. And that means not just Trump saying that he is doing things to consolidate power. but actually doing it. And so I think that you can use a series of benchmarks. It's a brief checklist, right? First is that I looked into sort of quantitatively the court rulings against Trump.

But we can say that there's an attempt to reconfigure the constitutional order without having to amend the Constitution. And that means not just Trump saying that he is doing things to consolidate power. but actually doing it. And so I think that you can use a series of benchmarks. It's a brief checklist, right? First is that I looked into sort of quantitatively the court rulings against Trump.

And I found that not only did he lose vastly more than he won whenever there was an actual decision, but in most situations, the administration has complied with the something like four to one ratio of court orders where they've lost. Look at the cases of the students that have been targeted, right? Courts have been consistently ruling in their favor.

And I found that not only did he lose vastly more than he won whenever there was an actual decision, but in most situations, the administration has complied with the something like four to one ratio of court orders where they've lost. Look at the cases of the students that have been targeted, right? Courts have been consistently ruling in their favor.

They've issued statements publicly saying, we will never back off from defending what is right. And it looks most likely, based on the current legal trajectory, that they're going to be released. In fact, courts have ordered a significant number of student visas that have been taken away, restored. And the State Department has complied with that. So that's one thing, right?

They've issued statements publicly saying, we will never back off from defending what is right. And it looks most likely, based on the current legal trajectory, that they're going to be released. In fact, courts have ordered a significant number of student visas that have been taken away, restored. And the State Department has complied with that. So that's one thing, right?

Failing to consolidate institutional power. A second thing is failing to neutralize sources of opposition. And so I think the press is a really good example. Like, one of the first things that any of these guys does when they want to try to move towards an authoritarian state— is suborn the press in some way, silence it, make sure there isn't effective criticism coming out of the media.

Failing to consolidate institutional power. A second thing is failing to neutralize sources of opposition. And so I think the press is a really good example. Like, one of the first things that any of these guys does when they want to try to move towards an authoritarian state— is suborn the press in some way, silence it, make sure there isn't effective criticism coming out of the media.

And clearly, there are instances of self-censorship by the media, of Trump putting pressure on media organizations. But on the whole, if you look at the media landscape in the United States, there's no shortage of Trump criticism. We aren't having the entire country turning into Fox News. And the third thing is civil society. And here, the thing that really changed my mind is universities.

And clearly, there are instances of self-censorship by the media, of Trump putting pressure on media organizations. But on the whole, if you look at the media landscape in the United States, there's no shortage of Trump criticism. We aren't having the entire country turning into Fox News. And the third thing is civil society. And here, the thing that really changed my mind is universities.

Where you had at first Columbia basically doing whatever Trump wanted to try to get the threat of funding cuts, federal funding dollars being shut off off their back. But then it looked like Harvard might be about to do the same thing. And then all of a sudden Harvard becomes the leader of the resistance, right? They're organizing this thing. There's a compact among big 10 schools.

Where you had at first Columbia basically doing whatever Trump wanted to try to get the threat of funding cuts, federal funding dollars being shut off off their back. But then it looked like Harvard might be about to do the same thing. And then all of a sudden Harvard becomes the leader of the resistance, right? They're organizing this thing. There's a compact among big 10 schools.

That's been ratified by faculty senates in which they pledge. Basically, they call it a NATO for mutual legal defense. If Trump comes after one of them, they'll all defend each other with resources. There's a strategy group privately for Ivy League and other like top tier elite schools where they're planning collective resistance against the Trump administration.

That's been ratified by faculty senates in which they pledge. Basically, they call it a NATO for mutual legal defense. If Trump comes after one of them, they'll all defend each other with resources. There's a strategy group privately for Ivy League and other like top tier elite schools where they're planning collective resistance against the Trump administration.

This is not what happens when you effectively consolidate power. And you can see this in a number of different spheres ranging from business to law.

This is not what happens when you effectively consolidate power. And you can see this in a number of different spheres ranging from business to law.