It’s the biggest fear of many never-Trumpers — that the Republican president will ignore the Constitution, the courts and Congress to reshape the executive branch into simply the executive, a single person lording over the government, immune from oversight, a monarchy without royalty.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump provided a window into his thinking with two social media posts that quoted the famous French general Napoleon Bonaparte. Bonaparte named himself emperor and ruled as an authoritarian.
“He who saves his country does not violate any law,” Trump wrote on his social media site, Truth Social, and Elon Musk’s X platform on Saturday. Musk reposted it along with 14 American flag emojis, and The White House account on X also shared the message alongside Trump’s official presidential photograph.
On Sunday, he doubled down, calling on lawyers and judges to be “tough” and protect the country as his administration faces a series of court battles over his bid to end birthright citizenship and his gutting of the federal bureaucracy.
Critics pounced on the posts, saying they confirm what they’ve been saying all along about the 47th president.
New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie, on the social media platform Bluesky, called it “the single most un-American and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an American president.”
Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff responded to Trump on X: “Spoken like a true dictator.”
Conservative commentator Bill Kristol took it a step further, likening the quote to a 1929 declaration from Adolf Hitler that became a Nazi principle: “The authority of the Führer is not limited by laws or statutes.”
“This reads better in the original German,” Kristol opined.
Conservative writer Charles C.W. Cooke called the posts “Batsh-t nonsense. The presidency is created by the Constitution; not the other way around.”
Even former VP Mike Pence weighed in, resharing an essay that appeared in his 2010 book, The Presidency and the Constitution“: “A president who slights the Constitution is like a rider who hates his horse: he will be thrown, and the nation along with him. The president solemnly swears to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. He does not solemnly swear to ignore, overlook, supplement, or reinterpret it.”
Former Trump Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said those profoundly disturbed by the quote are just playing into the president’s hands.
“It’s entertainment for Trump. It’s a distraction,” Priebus said on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, dismissing the quote as Trump trolling the media. “This is what the President does.”
However, the president isn’t the only one in his administration who seems to have given up on liberal democracy.
Vice President J.D. Vance posted on X on Feb. 9 that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” which is demonstrably false. But what if Trump decides to ignore court orders? Who’s going to stop him? For the record, Trump told reporters last week that he would adhere to court rulings.
“I always abide by the courts, and then I’ll have to appeal it,” Trump said.
And on Monday, shadow president Musk, angry that 60 Minutes aired an interview with a DOGE critic, said the show’s staffers “deserve a long prison sentence.”
Musk made the chilling post on X in reply to a “60 Minutes” tweet promoting its latest episode.
Liberal activist Angelo Carusone summed it up well: “It’s not what Trump posted that tells you where this is going; it’s how his people are responding to it that really tells you where this is going.”
Carusone shared a post from Trump superfan and conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec, who responded to Trump’s quote with, “America will be saved. What must be done will be done.”
Laura Loomer, who traffics in similar conspiracies, also cheered on Trump’s fantasy: “Thank you, President Trump. We love you.”
