“Right now, we have an authoritarian president.”
In no uncertain terms, Senator Bernie Sanders has officially labeled Donald Trump a dictatorial ruler. In a post on X, Sanders wrote, “Right now, we have an authoritarian president. He called CNN ‘illegal.’ He is trying to encroach on the spending powers of Congress. He is going after the courts. Trump does not respect our Constitution. He just wants more and more power for himself.”
Sanders recently spoke to CNN about the dangers of the Trump administration, highlighting its multi-pronged assault against the free press, the powers of Congress, and the court system currently keeping him in check.
Sanders highlighted Donald Trump’s recent declaration that CCN, along with numerous other major news outlets are engaged in “illegal” activities, which the president defines as reporting on news that is critical of his administration. In a speech given at the Department of Justice, Trump accused American media of peddling the misinformation that “they” tell them to say. Trump didn’t elaborate on who “they” are but later confirmed that he was talking about the Democratic Party.
It’s hardly the first time that Trump has taken up arms against American news media—it’s one of the key foundations of his political career. While Trump didn’t invent the term, Trump popularized the concept of “fake news” during his first presidential bid, and has since leveled the term at countless media articles and organizations. Trump has also escalated his threats against the media with lawfare and is currently suing CBS for $20 billion over an interview they aired with Kamala Harris. Trump has leveled his considerable legal powers against individuals, and has sued an Iowa pollster, her newspaper, and the paper’s parent company for publishing a presidential poll he didn’t agree with.
As for Trump’s threats against Congress, Sanders is alluding to the Trump administration’s decision to permanently shutter USAID, a government agency responsible for overseas humanitarian aid. The decision came courtesy of Elon Musk’s cost-cutting para-governmental agency DOGE, which is currently taking a “chainsaw” to the federal bureaucracy, a plan that Musk has demonstrated literally by waving a chainsaw around onstage at conservative gatherings. According to U.S. District Court Judge Theodore D. Chuang, Musk’s decision violated the Constitution “in multiple ways,” denying Congress a say in the dissolution of an agency it created. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has not been affirmed by Congress. Its legality was contested mere minutes after Trump’s presidential victory.
While Judge Chuang’s ruling against DOGE is only one roadblock in an all-out judiciary blockade against the Trump administration, Sanders warns that Trump intends to circumvent the judiciary entirely to further his political agenda. Trump has called for the impeachment of a federal judge seeking further information into Trump’s mass deportation effort, and his animosity towards the judicial branch has created dangerous real-world consequences. Numerous judges have been threatened with pipe bomb attacks, and others have had SWAT teams called on them as part of an intimidation tactic from vindictive Trump supporters. Trump’s attacks on federal judges represent a total about-face from his comments in his Department of Justice speech, where he suggested that criticism of federal judges should be made “totally illegal”.
Despite Trump’s calls to impeach federal judges, the president has no power to do so. The impeachment of federal judges falls under congressional purview, but Republicans eager to curry favor with the president have jumped at the chance to put forth articles of impeachment against Trump’s political enemies. Texas Representative Rep. Brandon Gill recently put forth an impeachment resolution against a federal judge who put a stop to Trump’s bid to deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants, arguing that the judge “overstepped his authority, compromised the impartiality of the judiciary, and created a constitutional crisis.”
As Senator Sanders says, though, it’s Trump who is guilty of creating a constitutional crisis—the first of many.
Published: Mar 22, 2025 1:43 PM UTC