We are rapidly becoming a Monarchy.

We are rapidly becoming a monarchy. The very same thing we rejected 250 years ago.

A few thoughts as we approach the 250th anniversary of America’s independence. It’s a milestone that’s supposed to celebrate our break from monarchy and the founding principles of democracy. But Trump’s failing and unfit leadership is causing a lot of people to believe we are not as far from monarchy as we think.

Lately, you’ve probably been reading about banners with Trump’s face showing up on multiple federal buildings across our nation’s capital, and it’s hard to ignore how much his increasing lack of competency dominates the daily news cycle. Some folks say we’re moving more toward monarchy with each passing day. I'm one of those.

In today’s St. Pete Times, there’s a column by NICHOLAS RICCARDI of ASSOCIATED PRESS in which he sets all this out (Read the full article here: https://enewspaper.tampabay.com/infinity/article_popover_share.aspx?guid=ec8b58a2-f6ae-4728-acff-2cbe439dd3ca&share=true)

1.    Since returning to office in 2025, Trump nominated his personal lawyer as attorney general, ordered the Justice Department to go after his political enemies, and even sent U.S. Marines into the country’s second-largest city.

2.   He’s used the presidency to enrich himself and his family, launching cryptocurrencies that have brought in hundreds of millions, and even tried to sue the IRS for $10 billion.

3.   Trump has called for comedians who mock him to be fired, slapped his name on the Kennedy Center, and pushed to control elections.

4   He’s filed lawsuits against news organizations he doesn’t like and even sued his own government for taxpayer money.

I should add, he has also in the 15 months since he returned to America’s highest office, launched the U.S. into a war with Iran, sparking a global energy crisis that has raised the cost of living pretty much everywhere. He also invaded Venezuela and kidnapped its leader, Nicolás Maduro, and axed thousands of staffers from the federal government crippling important government agencies.

He has hobbled America’s press, sowed doubt and distrust in the country’s democratic elections, undermined the judiciary system, pardoned hundreds of the rioters who attacked Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, imposed nonsensical tariffs on U.S. trading partners, aggravated America’s international alliances, abused the purpose of executive orders, and endorsed violent immigration policies and detention centers that have been compared to concentration camps, among other issues.

With the nation's 250th anniversary coming up, we at least might expect some apolitical celebrating. But Trump’s blatant self-aggrandizing rallies are ignoring the official commission that was supposed to be coordinating the festivities. Instead, he’s planning a huge “Trump rally” on the National Mall. This is sickening.

So, understandingly, there’s an anti-Trump movement that has adopted the slogan “No Kings.” They’re saying Trump reminds them of the tyranny Americans rebelled against 250 years ago, and recent protests against his administration’s immigration crackdown have now turned deadly, with federal officers murdering two protesters this year.

Clearly, Trump is making it clear he sees the presidency as a position with unlimited power. “I have the right to do whatever I want as president,” he has declared and openly claimed the only check on his power is his own morality and then blatantly toys with us by laughingly rejecting the idea that he’s a dictator or a king, saying to a CBS reporter, “If I was (sic) a king, I wouldn’t be dealing with you.”

Sadly, it is clear that with our Republican-led Congress largely bowing to this fool, the courts have become the main check on his power. But, even so, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has sided with him, granting him and future presidents broad immunity from prosecution. Having said as much, however, they have also set limits—like when the court blocked his global tariffs and allowed Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, to stay in place despite his efforts to fire her.

Trump’s scandalous open proclivities toward grift have only grown during his second term. He’s launched multiple cryptocurrencies, some of which have made him hundreds of millions, and, through his son, even secured a $2 billion investment from a foreign wealth fund. He also tried to create a $1.776 billion fund from a lawsuit against the IRS, though backlash so far has forced him to recede from his intent to callously pay it out to the January 6 Capitol rioters.

Perhaps most dangerous, though, is how he has used the Justice Department to go after his opponents. He’s publicly demanded prosecutions, and while some charges have been dismissed, his administration keeps pushing new ones.

As we celebrate 250 years since America broke free from monarchy, we need to ask: are we living up to the ideals of our once-great democracy, or are we drifting back toward the kind of authoritarian power our founders fought against? We need to talk openly about all this and come to grips with what’s happening—not just for history’s sake, but for the future of our country.

Sandspur