This week had the sharp scent of authoritarianism, as Trump and members of his regime continued to put forth actions to block free speech. Ironically, this comes after a centerpiece of the right’s complaints in the 2024 election, and prior, was being censored, and Trump’s myriad of lawsuits over the same. Wide-ranging examples of restricting free speech this week included castigating a singer for his lyrics; firings and revoking visas over comments critical of Charlie Kirk; forcing a social media company to remove content; and attempting to restrict media access to the Pentagon.

The paradox noted this week by an NYT columnist was that while Trump promoted peace abroad, he was siccing the U.S. military on its citizens in Democratic-run cities. Portland poked fun at Trump’s invented crisis there, dressing up in costumes to protest the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence. Things took a turn for the worse in Chicago, as ICE agents used tear gas on residents, including police officers and onlookers.

The mood of the country remained largely somber, and increasingly divided, not only by party and ideology, but also in the broadening gap between those who have access and are benefiting from Trump’s economic actions, versus those who have seen their financial well-being negatively impacted. Trump and White House budget director Russell Vought seized on the continuing government shutdown to devastate agencies, cutting jobs in what Trump called “Democrat-oriented” positions, including the Department of Education, Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The implications of the regime’s continuing federal employee cuts are already being felt well beyond blue states and cities.

This week Trump and his White House budget director made dramatic threats of mass firings of federal workers if the shutdown continued, in an effort to get Democrats to capitulate. As the shutdown neared the end of its first week, and Democrats appeared to have the upper hand, Trump escalated, threatening to withhold to back pay from furloughed workers. Cracks began to appear, as air traffic controllers, already in short supply with previous Trump cutbacks, stopped showing up to work, and delays spread to airports around the country.

The other big story this week was Trump escalating his threats to send National Guard troops to two Democratic cities, Portland and Chicago. After a Trump-appointed federal judge ruled he could not deploy the Oregon National Guard in Portland, the regime tried an end-around of deploying the California National Guard there, which the furious judge also temporarily blocked. As the week closed out, Trump deployed the Texas National Guard to Chicago, in what the Illinois governor dubbed an “authoritarian march,” while Trump threatened to throw him and the mayor of Chicago in jail, and possibly invoke the Insurrection Act.

Meanwhile, the country’s mood continues to sour. Just 17% say Trump’s policies are making them financially better off. Trump finds little support for deploying military troops against the wishes of governors (37% approve), and an overwhelming 83% say the U.S. military should remain politically neutral.

This week we see an increasingly unbridled Trump, taking previously unthinkable actions in the light of day, and facing little or no pushback, nor consequence. Trump finally got his wish for retribution against former FBI director James Comey, with his newly installed U.S. attorney, garnering an indictment — although barely. Rather than retreat, Trump bragged to reporters that there would be more indictments of his perceived enemies coming.

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s show returned to air to a record audience, with Nexstar and Sinclair shortly after agreeing to air the show again, in a victory for free speech. Financial media reported that the lesson parent company Disney learned may be a turning point for previous capitulation by media companies. There were also several court rulings this week in favor of free speech, and against the Trump regime.

Defense Department (aka Department of War if Trump gets his way) Secretary Pete Hegseth convened a remarkable meeting at Quantico, flying generals and admirals stationed around the world back to Virginia, to deliver what turned out to be his standard anti-DEI, warrior stump speech. Trump also made his way to address the audience in a 73 minute rambling speech, 44 minutes of which was a repeat of random, unrelated remarks he had made in recent speeches. When Trump did turn to matters related to the military, his first remark was related to using the U.S. military on the country’s own citizens, and allowing Democratic-run cities to be “training grounds” for the military.

As the week closed out, the government shut down, as Democrats at long last did not capitulate to Trump’s desires. Trump and Republicans lied repeatedly about what was happening, and sought to place the blame on Democrats, as Trump threatened to cut hundreds of thousands more federal workers. It was unclear if this was possible, given, as we have covered in this project, several agencies have already sought to hire back employees fired by the regime. Trump also suffered a rare Supreme Court loss as the court ruled Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook could stay in place, hours after private company ADP showed more negative employment data, and the day after Trump pulled his nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This was quite a week! What strikes me the most in summarizing one of the longest lists of broken norms so far is the lack of pushback that persists. Trump is by all accounts unilaterally making decisions on foreign policy, economic policy, healthcare issues, censorship, prosecutorial discretion, and more. He has become so brazen that he feels comfortable saying out loud, and repeatedly, that the Justice Department must go after his enemies — something previously unthinkable — and firing those who refuse to do so. He also this week, on several occasions, lashed out at his enemies, which includes apparently every American who disagrees with him. His words, at Charlie Kirk’s funeral: “I hate my opponent. And I don’t want the best for them.” His words, at the United Nations to world leaders who allow immigration and clean energy: “Your countries are going to hell.”

Mind you, the American people are not happy. An AP-NORC poll found 75% of Americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, including more than half of Republicans. Trump’s approval stands at the lowest of his second regime. Yet Trump, unlike in the first term when members of his party and regime would push back, is not having boundaries erected before him. Not by Congress, nor the Supreme Court, which is again and again expanding his power, in the shade of the aptly named shadow docket, offering no explanation for their rulings. So as has been his pattern in both regimes, with no boundaries or pushback, Trump pushes norms further, and grasps more and more power.

Also alarming this week are Trump and his regime’s attacks on free speech. Members of his regime are doing his bidding now. Disney suspended comedian Jimmy Kimmel after the FCC threatened to take away broadcast rights; the FTC is wielding deal approval for media companies as a cudgel; the Pentagon restricted journalists’ access; even West Point academy was sued for silencing professors. On this one issue, there is some muted pushback from conservatives, mostly out of fear that when the shoe is on the other foot, it will come back to haunt them. Ironically, the notion of the “woke right,” something unthinkable just months ago, became a thing this week.

The main story this week was continued political violence in the nation, as conservative activist Charlie Kirk was murdered while giving a speech on a college campus. While the killing was one in a long list of bipartisan violence and threats, Trump and his regime seized on it to baselessly promote conspiracy theories about a vast left-wing effort, including liberal groups, donors, and protestors.

As it turned out, the alleged murderer grew up in a Republican family, in a red district, and was registered as unaffiliated, but that did not stop Trump and his allies from threatening broad measures which would undermine the fabric of democracy and the rule of law, in an effort to score political points and silence dissent. Even the conservative WSJ Editorial Board criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s threats to prosecute hate speech, in an op-ed saying she “needs a free speech tutorial.” The public also didn’t warm to Trump’s behavior, as an Economist/YouGov poll found his approval at the lowest level of his second regime. The only benefit for Trump has been to drive the Jeffrey Epstein story out of the top news stories.

Much of Trump and his regime’s attempts to seize power and act unilaterally is a continuation of the increasingly autocratic behaviors we have chronicled in this project. This week we continue to see attempts to silence dissent, push boundaries to act without consent of Congress, use divisions as red meat for his base, and a reordering of the world order. The economy, a point of strength for Trump during his first regime, has become his weakest issue, other than his handling of the Epstein investigations. On his overall handling of the economy, his net approval was -17, while his handling of inflation was net -30.

This week, Congress is back in session, and so is the Jeffrey Epstein files story. Congress was greeted upon their return by Epstein survivors, who called for the release of files and accountability. This has been the one story Trump has not been able to spin or control, and he found himself, his regime, and most Republicans contorting themselves to respond, especially after his entry to Epstein’s 50th birthday book, something Trump had denied existed and even sued over, was released by the Epstein estate.

A major theme this week is the Supreme Court siding with Trump, and, according to many lower court judges, therefore undermining the rule of law. As of this week, an astonishing three-quarters of lower court rulings have been reversed. Republicans in Congress too continue to almost completely abdicate their role to Trump and look the other way, including on his self dealing and corruption.

Notable this week is Trump’s pettiness shining through. I wrote more about it here, but as someone who has tracked this man daily for five years, I’ve noted that he cares immensely about being liked. Big parts of his agenda, despite abdication and assists from the Supreme Court and Republican eunuchs, are stalled or failing. When he feels unsuccessful or not in control, he strikes out, often in the most petty of ways.

As a final note, I would encourage you to read through all of this week’s broken norms. There’s a lot happening on a myriad of fronts! Because of the fragmentation and demise of much of our media, many of these stories are exclusive to one news outlet. One subscriber wrote to me, I subscribe to three publications and read them daily, but I still missed so much this week! Exactly. Take the time to keep up with what he is up to!

This week Trump lost three major court cases, which could have major implications on the regime’s ability to enact his agenda. Perhaps the most consequential was a 7–4 ruling by a federal appeals court, finding that he had overstepped his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in his trade war, a ruling that could impact the majority of his tariffs. The court noted that no president had ever done this before, and it is the power of Congress to impose tariffs. The WSJ Editorial Board once again lambasted Trump, writing, “If he can impose a tax on any imported product any time he wants, he really has the power of a king.”

A federal appeals court similarly found that Trump had wrongfully invoked the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to deport immigrants he accused of belonging to a Venezuelan street gang. The ruling could have broader implications for the Trump regime, and its broad anti-immigrant narrative used to justify its actions. Notably, in Week 42, an analysis by the NYT highlighted Trump’s overuse of declaring emergencies, finding he had already declared a total of ten, while his predecessors averaged seven over their four-year terms.

The third ruling related to Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, finding he had violating the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which bars the use of soldiers for civilian law enforcement activities. The ruling came on the same day Trump threatened to send federal troops to other blue cities, including Chicago and Baltimore. The regime will appeal all these rulings, and ultimately the Supreme Court will continue setting boundaries that will have long-term implications for the future power of the presidency.

Finally, notable this week were Trump’s continued use of the tools of authoritarians. He continued his pattern of firing those with whom he disagrees or who get in his way. The WSJ noted that he is even backsliding to what was endemic during his first regime: his pattern of firing his handpicked senior officials. Trump also continues his attacks on science and data, another tool of authoritarians.

So much for what typically would be a slow news week in August. With Congress still on recess, this week it felt as if Trump was running the country on his own. He even mused at a half-day-long cabinet meeting about being a dictator! He certainly is increasingly acting like one, continuing a shocking and very public retribution campaign against his perceived enemies, taking control of D.C. and threatening other Democratic cities, and tightening his grip over the U.S. economy. I wrote more about how Trump is increasingly nationalizing our economy, akin to state-managed capitalism under authoritarian regimes, rather than a free market system, here.

One would think with all these moves, especially in betrayal of GOP orthodoxy on free market capitalism, the Republican Party would be up in arms! No. Nary a whisper from Republicans as Trump moves to take total control. The only criticism Trump is consistently facing continues to come from the conservative WSJ Editorial Board, which, on Trump’s search of John Bolton’s home, wrote, “The real offender here is a President who seems to think he can use the powers of his office to run vendettas,” and of his attempted coup of the Federal Reserve, said, “He may succeed, but the country will live to regret it.”

Our federal agencies are being quietly degraded — quite literally being deconstructed from within by Trump appointees. This week, the FBI lowered its standards for hiring amid a talent drain, FEMA employees warned of the impact on Trump’s moves on the agency’s readiness, and many more troubling signs emerged. I encourage you all to read through this week’s broken norms to understand the slow decay underway.

Closing on a note of hope, and the shift in the mood of the country. This week Iowa held a special election for a state senate seat, formerly held by a Republican, and in a district that Trump won by 11 points in 2024. In a shocker, Democrat Caitlin Drey, 37, who had no political experience, won by 11 points, breaking what was a Republican supermajority. You can see why Trump is so desperate for mid-decade gerrymandering.

This week we continue the storyline of Trump’s efforts to rewrite history and manipulate data to fit his narratives, both hallmarks of authoritarianism. Last week Bureau of Labor Statistics data was under siege; this week Trump’s U.S. Attorney in D.C. launched a probe into so-called manipulation of violent crime data in D.C., when reality of the data didn’t fit the justification for Trump’s coup of the city’s law enforcement. Trump also continued his unprecedented actions to rewrite history at the Smithsonian, which is supposed to be an independent entity, threatening a process similar to the regime’s ongoing investigations of colleges and universities.

This week we saw much pageantry with Trump first entertaining Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska, and then days later European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. I’m struck by the similarity to Trump’s grandiose summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un during the first regime, when the media breathlessly covered every detail on the front pages for days, distracting from stories back then that he did not want covered. Similarly, we find almost no coverage this week of the Epstein files, which is politically toxic for Trump. With all his wild machinations and claims surrounding peace between Russia and Ukraine, including his normalizing Putin and allowing him a place on the world stage after three years of being ostracized, nothing really happened this week to ensure the peace that Trump had promised would happen on Day 1.

Another disturbing development this week are Trump’s moves for complete control of the economy, not only with his trade war, but also his efforts to take control of the Federal Reserve and extort U.S. companies. Trump is looking for ways not only to pressure and bully Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, but also to intimidate other Fed members into resigning, in an effort to reshape the independent institution to his liking and to do his bidding. The Trump regime is also reportedly ranking U.S. companies by their fealty to Trump, and seeking equity stakes in exchange for releasing federal grants promised to companies under the Biden administration.

All in all, this is a disturbing week because Trump is continuing to consolidate power, with little pushback. He is by all accounts, having an outsized say not only in the U.S. and global economy, but also unilaterally deciding foreign and domestic policy, with little to no pushback. Also notable is that several federal court rulings which had slowed or blocked the Trump regime’s moves have in recent weeks been overturned by appeals courts, including by several judges appointed by Trump.

What strikes me most this week is not the number of broken norms, but the nature of what Trump is getting away with. This week he assumed control of the nation’s capital; ordered a mid-decade census amid mid-decade gerrymandering; shook up the way the federal government collects job data; and unilaterally imposed an export tax on two U.S. chip companies that amounted to extortion. Even the conservative Wall Street Journal Editorial Board noted that Trump was “expanding the long arm of the state into more of the private economy,” and mused, “Will any Republican object? Alas, probably not.”

Exactly. That is what stands out this week: that in the first and now second regimes, Trump kept and keeps pushing boundaries, again and again, until he met or meets pushback or resistance. Problem is, he is now not facing either.

Instead we are increasingly confronted with two sets of truths. Not only in Trump’s efforts to rewrite history, like the altered Smithsonian exhibit on impeachment in Week 39 (this week it was switched back…kinda), but also two sets of data. This is a hallmark of authoritarians throughout history as well: when the numbers don’t go your way, change the numbers to make them match your version of the truth.

Trump completely invented data in his power grab of the nation’s capital, taking control of the Metropolitan Police Department and mobilizing 800 National Guard troops, over a supposed emergency. Data from both the FBI and Metropolitan Police showed the exact opposite of what Trump claimed: that crime is actually falling and at a 30-year low. Why now? This shiny coin feeds the base and allows Trump to drive the narrative of what the media covers.

And that’s the point to much of what he does. You will notice what we are discussing a lot less this week: the Epstein files. This is an issue that united Americans across party line, release the files! In Trump’s manufactured chaos we’re also not talking about his low approval ratings on handling key issues like the economy, immigration, and foreign policy. Instead, he has once again regained control of the narrative with his manufactured chaos, and is increasingly acting more like a king than an elected official.