News broke this week that President Donald Trump was conditioning approval of an infrastructure spending Bill on renaming New York City’s Penn Station and Washington’s Dulles Airport in his honour. It was unsurprising because there’s a disturbing pattern in Mr Trump’s approach to governing that includes glorification of the leader, erasure of norms, threats of retribution, and reliance on “alternative facts.”

Once again writing about President Trump, I know some will accuse me of what the president calls “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” I confess to being obsessed with his incendiary speech, behaviour, and movement, because of their danger to American democracy.

During Mr Trump’s first term we dreaded the morning news about his threatening tweets posted overnight. But with guardrails—senior staff who slow-walked his demands or refused to act on them, or Congress or the courts checking his behaviour—most often the threats were hollow.

But in his second term, the guardrails are gone. The President is emboldened to move beyond empty words to actions which his minions faithfully attempt to execute. As a result, we’re entering uncharted waters in which an imperial presidency tests the resilience of our system of “checks and balances.”

Entering the second year of his second term, the pattern is clear. He employs bullying tactics to get his way—with individuals, institutions, or countries. He “floods the zone,” disorienting opponents by confronting them daily with a barrage of new challenges. And following lessons learned from his mentor, Roy Cohn, he always attacks, never admits mistakes, and always claims victory.

In just the past few weeks, Mr Trump has undertaken several deeply disturbing initiatives. Individually, each poses a problem, but collectively they suggest something far more ominous.

He ordered the FBI to seize the 2020 election ballots from Fulton County, Georgia, presumably still believing he was cheated of victory—even though a Republican official controlled the 2020 Georgia balloting. The action alone was unprecedented for a president. Then he made a statement:

“Remember, the states are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes…They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do.”

Thus, the president calls for violating the Constitution and its prerogative for states in running elections. And by equating himself with the federal government, saying that when he speaks, he does so on behalf of and for the good of the country, he lays the groundwork for an imperial presidency.

The president also made an abrupt decision to shutter the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He blamed the closure on the Centre’s physical condition, saying it was a danger to patrons. However, just a few days earlier, the White House had hosted the premiere of the “Melania” documentary at the Centre. Insiders suggest another reason behind the closure decision.

Unilaterally changing the Centre’s name, removing its board, and making himself the chair has made the once-revered institution partisan and toxic. As the Centre lost members and donors, had performers cancel, and bled money, the president shut it down rather than admit defeat.

One of the president’s earliest actions was to try to bring the nation’s most prestigious universities to heel by charging them with chronic antisemitism and using “diversity quotas” in hiring and admissions. He withheld federal grants until universities complied with demands to rid their campuses of antisemitism (which meant ending protests against Israel) and make admissions and hiring blind. Some smaller schools submitted to the threats, but Harvard held out. After a year of negotiations, the story emerged that the White House was backing down on its threat to fine Harvard. This suggestion of defeat enraged the president, who denied it, announcing an increase in Harvard’s penalty from $200 million to $1 billion.

This pattern of presidential behaviour grows more pronounced each day. He makes decisions unilaterally without regard to the Constitution or norms. He punishes those who will not submit to his dictates. He governs as if “L’État, c’est moi.” With a compliant Congress and a base of true believers, this president appears untouchable. But should he push too far, or should Republicans lose control of Congress in November, the tide could turn, leaving Mr Trump’s effort to create an “Imperial Presidency” to die on the vine.

Dr. James J. ZogbyThe writer is the President of Arab American Institute.

© The Nation