1. A Year of Living Dangerously
This was the year of maximum peril. Next year the government will be somewhat immobilized as it prepares for midterm elections. In 2027, Democrats should have control of (at least) one chamber of Congress. If Trump was going to expand and consolidate executive power to a degree that resembles Viktor Orbán, he would have had to do it in 2025.
I think we may be past his high-water mark.
I know.
It makes me nervous to talk like this.1 But today I’m giving you the case for why we may be on the downslope of Trump. And then I’ll give you the contrary case and try to game out how he could still achieve his dream of a semi-monarchical power.
But God help me—I think we might just manage to preserve American democracy.