Below is my column in the New York Post on the growing claim of a “constitutional crisis” over the Trump reforms. It is the latest political jump scare to see if it will rouse the public. It seems, again, to be backfiring as polling shows Trump with record approval levels and widespread support for reducing government.
Here is the column:
Forty years ago, a radio personality coined the phrase “jump the shark” in reference to the episode of the sitcom “Happy Days” in which the character Fonzie (Henry Winkler) jumps over a live shark on water skis. The term is often applied to dying franchises that turn to sensational language or scenes to try to revive the fading interest of the public. More often, you jump the shark and land in utter obscurity.
This week, the Democratic Party jumped the shark.
For years, Dems and their allies pushed the absurd claim that democracy was about to die if Joe Biden or Kamala Harris was not elected president. The public wasn’t buying it. In 2024, Donald Trump won a majority of the voters as well as control of both houses of Congress.
Rather than examine its messaging, Democrats decided to double down. After the election, politicians and pundits announced a new “constitutional crisis” surrounding the effort to downsize the federal government led by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Kris Mayes, the attorney general of Arizona, declared this week, “We are on the brink of a dictatorship, and America has never been in a more dangerous position than she is today.”
The same media that carried the breathless accounts of the imminent death of democracy with the last election are now running “constitutional crisis” articles with many of the same “experts.”
Despite Trump repeating that he “will abide by the courts” while appealing opposing decisions, NPR insisted that Trump’s circle has indicated it is “willing to ignore court orders and defy judicial authority.”
During his first term, Trump repeatedly lost cases — as did his predecessor, Barack Obama, and successor, Biden — but he continued to comply with those rulings.
The fact is that we have the oldest and most stable constitutional system in history. It has repeatedly survived challenges from political to economic meltdowns that would have destroyed other systems. That Madisonian system relies on an independent judiciary, including Trump appointees who regularly ruled against the Trump administration, including on the Supreme Court.
For many citizens, what is most striking is not Trump’s actions, but how Democrats are seeking to prevent the very reforms that a majority of voters supported.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) warned that this “is a really, really sad day in America. We are witnessing a constitutional crisis. We talked about Trump wanting to be a dictator on day one. And here we are. This is what the beginning of dictatorship looks like when you gut the Constitution, and you install yourself as the sole power. That is how dictators are made.”
Actually, that is not how dictators are made but how democracies work. Trump ran on reducing the deficit and size of the government. The public is worried about a crisis — though it is not one of democracy but debt.
In 2024, the $6.75 trillion budget exceeded our tax receipts of $4.9 trillion. The rest, $1.8 trillion, had to be borrowed. As a result, the national debt has ballooned and, if left on its current trajectory, would amount to 250% of gross domestic product within three decades.
We are becoming a debtor nation where every citizen now shoulders a $106,000-per-capita burden to pay for our out-of-control spending.
Nevertheless, in the first DOGE subcommittee hearing in the House, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) insisted that he would “defend democracy,” which is “under attack” by DOGE and the effort to carry out Trump’s campaign pledges.
What is truly in danger is the status quo. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) may have ironically had the most honest moment when he joined one of the daily protests and yelled how Musk’s government efficiency efforts are “taking away everything we have.”
By declaring a constitutional crisis, these figures are using “rage rhetoric” that gives a license for extreme conduct and messaging.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has declared a “coup” is being carried out.
Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) insisted “God d—-it shut down the Senate! … WE ARE AT WAR!”
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) called on citizens “to fight back” as Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) called for a fight in the streets and for citizens “to rise up.”
Not to be outdone in the rage-fest, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) yelled, “We are gonna be in your face, we are gonna be on your a–es, and we are going to make sure you understand what democracy looks like, and this ain’t it.”
Biden was repeatedly found to have violated the Constitution, including with unilateral actions through executive orders. Courts called him out for it. None of these Democratic members declared a coup or collapse of democracy. Such court challenges are common and often these early initiatives shake out with new guarantees and judicial guidelines.
The courts may oppose certain moves by Trump and DOGE, but these are decisions of process, not policy. Eventually the president will be able to pare government spending, which is what the Democrats are really upset about — not the invented “constitutional crisis.”
Judging from the polls, the public sees that. The Fonz saw it, even if he still does not get it. Just before the election, Winkler mocked Trump’s huge Madison Square Garden rally and told NBC, “That’s his life’s bread; his life’s blood is the sound of appreciation or adulation or whatever.” That “whatever” is called public support. It is a lesson that the Democrats may want to learn if they ever want to see happier days.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
Brilliant column professor! Democrats are trying to restart the “resistance” but this time it is falling flat. Trump ran on a campaign about things Americans care about and he is delivering on that. Meanwhile, Democrats are trying to block all his success which the majority of Americans care about. Democrats keep this up and they are going to lose even more in the mid-terms.
I really like the new edge of the Professor’s columns. The sense of exasperation with his old party seems to continue to grow. Funny how so many Republicans also went along with this kind of s___show over the years and acquiesced to the Washington Shenanigans. IT only took one man to stand up and say no and then more have continued to come forth. We see it more and more when, in Red States at least, Governors actually work on the legislatures to actually do their jobs. The recent special session in Florida is a case in point. Just as in Washington Legislatures do the same things as Congress and they need to be corralled also.
When you look back over the years, you realize how many Presidents of both parties just played the game and really did not govern or truly look out for the interests of the country.
It would seem that if someone really threatened to clean up DC a war would arise or an incident and then the public would be diverted from what we needed to be done at home.
Why do you think Trump pushes peace so much. It’s far less expensive, less blood is spilled , the industrial complexes that feed on war are pared back, and we can actually deal with the nation’s non war problem. We need to focus on our vital interests, keep China at bay, plan for an eventual non Putin Russia (he is not immortal) and get our economic house in order.
We need focus and rational economic policies that advance us and then we will be stronger than ever. But Obama, Biden, W Bush would have us throw away our strength small piece by small piece and totally unfocused and we were dying by a thousand cuts.
No More. Our interests are what we work on. The rest of the world needs to grow up and make rational decisions and solve their own problems.
Case in point Germany. What rational nation cuts out fossil fuels then closes their nuclear plants, goes to unreliable wind and solar energy and plans to run their economy on Russian Natural gas (a fossil fuel) from a political unreliable and now their once highly efficient economy is stagnant and failing (and Merkel comes back to try to reinforce the decisions made by her that produced this result.) Energy costs are about 5x that of the US.
We can help friends but I’m not sure we can help stupid.
GEB,
Great comment. Your Germany example is perfect description of what stupid looks like.
Hi GEB!!!
Speaking of Germans and STUPID, I wrote a poem many years ago called Die Scheisskopfen, which means The Sh!theads, in German, according to Google Translate. I posted it here today. It has a Universal Application to people who can not think because of their heads are filled up with poop. I hope that you enjoy it!!!
musk and trump kemo sabe
Why bother with truth or facts. Heck it is the story that is important, JD said that exact thought prior to the election about migrants eating pets. Totally false, but who cares, it is the story we want to convey that is important. So lie you rA$$ off and make stuff up.
trumps carelessness with facts will hurt our country for a very long time.
Here is just one item that got everyone in a tizzy, condoms.
Courtesy of Paul Krugman…
Did you hear the one about how USAID spent $50 million — or was it $100 million? — providing condoms to Hamas? This claim played a big role in the public relations campaign to rationalize the sudden, illegal dismantling of an agency that provides humanitarian aid to millions of people, and is also a key element of US foreign policy.
Reporters were puzzled by the claim because there didn’t appear to be any evidence. You will be happy to know that the mystery has been solved. Some DOGE staffers noticed that USAID had disbursed grants to local groups trying to limit the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in Gaza. But they didn’t read far enough in to learn that the Gaza in question isn’t the war-ravaged strip; it’s a province in the African nation of Mozambique. Oh well, southern Africa, the Middle East, what’s the difference to the Muskenjugend?
You quote krugman???? Now that is laughable.
Democrats like Anonymous are left getting all mean and upset because Musk is ending the giving of FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS worth of condoms to Mozambique. This is what the liberals are left to fight about.
Two things:
How many condoms does 50 million dollars buy at bulk rate?
How many people actually believe that there isn’t a nice fat kickback for some Dem donor to supply, deliver and disperse said condoms?
Ooh, ooh, one more thing. Why should we be supplying these fake condoms for a foreign land when, by the liberals own words, people are starving around the world?
Ooh, ooh, one more thing. I thought we didn’t have the money for North Carolina???
North Carolina! That should be the calling card for those pointing out this democrat enabled grifting of the American taxpayer. Every time a new waste is exposed – show how that money could have been prioritized for Americans in need. Summon samantha powers to the house and senate and give her PLENTY of time to explain the rationale behind each and every dollar wasted. Plaster her answers all over the media and let “We The People” decide the fate of the dems in 2026 (or sooner if the DOJ can make it a case for prosecutions).
And your point is? We should deal with similar problems for Americans and let Africa and Gaza (whether in Africa or the Levant) start dealing with their problems. Condoms have been in Africa for decades. I think they know where to get them and they can pay for them. Of course condoms for a long time were put over the barrels of weapons to keep them dry. I think that still works and likely is still used. Condoms can do many things besides birth control and STD prevention.
Are we suggesting that the American taxpayer should insure that terrorists can keep their guns dry?
They fill the condoms with helium and attach incendiary devices to them and float them over Israel to kill Jews.
Several years ago, Chief Justice John Roberts was roundly criticized for rejecting the notion that judges are and can be political in their decisions. Example after example proves Roberts wrong. As has been said, Justice may be blind, but she isn’t stupid. Judges are, in some cases, elected, but in the federal system, they are appointed. And who appoints them? The political winner of the White House, that’s who. So, why would donning a black robe and taking an oath of office suddenly produce a nonpartisan jurist? It makes no sense.
The people, that is, the source of all political and non-political power in this country, are squarely on the side of efficiency and order; they are outraged by hearing more and more examples of waste, fraud, and abuse every day. By the hour, Democrats are losing constituents who, like the rest of us, are learning about the waste, fraud, and abuse being addressed by Trump and his appointees, including Elon Musk. Unable to offer cogent reasons to criticize Trump’s efficiency campaign, they resort to criticizing him and his appointees, more often than not using ad hominems to do so. Their antics are childish and groundless.
Some of the judges, emotionally siding with the critics, are smart enough to see the writing on the wall and, more appropriately, in the statutes and case law that tell them that Trump has a wining hand here and that they, like their Democrat patrons in the media and elsewhere, need to know that it’s time to fold up and walk away.
Here’s the Democrats idea of democracy: when your candidates lose the Presidency and majorities on Capitol Hill, you run to the nearest Federal court, and try to force your policies on the People through Temporary Restraining Orders.
Democracy is not about majority rule by average people….it’s rule by elite activist lawyers and sympathetic Judges.
That’s what we’re up against.
It’s time for Chief Justice Roberts to discipline his sloppy organization. He’s allowing speculative grievances to be claimed as “injuries” in order to impede duly elected authority. He needs to now set a clear standard for “standing” and “extent injury” as the threshold for taking a case.
“Constitutional Crisis” appeared out of nowhere this weekend on cue, and is the darling term of the left, like ‘threat to democracy’, ‘existential threat’ and ‘rule of law’. It is reverberating within the media echo chamber, designed to fan the flames of Dems’ hysterical base and keep their donors’ checkbooks open. But Americans aren’t listening. All they are hearing now is the latest DOGE revelation.
I would suspect that those screaming the loudest have the most to lose and, also, they are the least apprised of the constitution.
They “illegally repealed”?
If you are referring to my comment on the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 michael…, they may have followed established procedure but ultimately created a “Great Redistribution of Working-class Wealth to the Rich, about a trillion dollars I believe,” never just a “Great Recession.” I’ll go you one further; to injure or set precedent to injure the majority is to “aid and comfort” our real enemies (mostly domestic these days); treason. Close enough to illegal now?
DEMS so called Constitutional Crisis is their own making. Once Trump one and began to take away the DEMS power, Questionable flow of $$$ to the Washington Elites NGO’s and other Liberal/Globalist NGO’s? Getting rid of the DEM insiders that were planted to prevent Trump to govern etc. etc now the cry Constitutional Crisis. They did not learn anything from the last election. The vast majority of people are tired of the Globalist/Restrictive Policies, Immigration Crime etc of the Radical DEM’s. Now the DEMS are using I hate Trump radical Judges in very liberal districts to try to stop Trump. This is where the crisis is, the Radical Left Justices trying to rule and limit Trump but it will fail, the rulings will be overturned in the Appeals Courts or Supreme Court and the Trump, with these rulings becomes even more powerful and the DEMS will be in shear Panic and even more crazy.
The Dems who are calling for protests and for people to “hit the streets” are the same people who for years have been calling Trump an insurrectionist. Do they not see the irony of their words? Are they not insurrectionists? It’s been funny watching them scream on TV for a couple of minutes (I have better things to do with my time — they apparently don’t). What Trump said was to behave peacefully, while these folks are actually inciting violence. Thankfully, no one is carrying out their commands.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) called on citizens “to fight back” as Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) called for a fight in the streets and for citizens “to rise up.”
As someone who has been involved in every aspect of financial statements from bookkeeping to litigation, I’m happy that someone is finally reviewing the US’s expenditures. I’m familiar with financial audits but Musk has a unique set of skills that will yield results. A top-down review of how the various agencies interact (banking regulators are a good example) and streamlining their duties would eliminate duplicative efforts. I can only see a good outcome.
(Cory Booker (D-NJ) called for a fight in the streets and for citizens “to rise up.”) If that doesn’t meet the standard for insurrection I don’t think we could find a better example. Now tell me why bothe booker and waters – and schumer for that matter – are the subject of DOJ probes for insurrection and a House committee isn’t assembled to put them in a deep dark cell? I know Trump promised no retribution, but we cannot let crimes go unpunished either or we flaunt the bedrock of our nation’s ethos – The Rule of Law. These scammers, grifters and crooks need to be held accountable.
Democrats, and Main Stream Media Mantra: Lie, cheat, steal, blame someone else, deny, deny, deny, and repeat!!!
Everything the Democrats touch turns to crap…
Democrat Motto: We’re not happy ‘till you’re not happy…
The Words Democrat and Hypocrite are Interchangeable…
The Democrats love their Double Standard…
Democrats Believe that ALL Americans are stupid…
The Democrats in Congress consistently fail to meet the low standards that they set for themselves.
Your words describe Donnie Von Schitzenpantz.
Really??? At this point it is getting comical/tragic to watch progs attempt to defend the indefensible by slandering those who are exposing their crimes/grifts/corruption/lies – the list could go on. The perfect description of dems, at this point, is wannabe communists.
I hope you got your condom from USAID.
Turns out the story was a lie. But hey, fun facts that titillate are way better than truth.
It’s getting painful to watch the failing attempts by progs to defend their own. The more you squeal, obfuscate and threaten, the more you are indicating your agreement with the clowns who betrayed this nation’s taxpayers. It isn’t working any longer – now seek citizenship in gaza, china, venezuela or some other commie dictatorship and enjoy the life that you wanted to foist on us.
The majority of Americans have come realize the Democrat Party Pipe Dream of government being Everything for Everyone All The Time FOREVER is not practical, sustainable, or desirable! Even young wokies are waking up now that they have to pay for real-life participation without much help from parents! Democrats always ruin the Party by becoming that obnoxious drunk that everyone wants tossed out.
There’s an old cartoon where Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd are dividing something between them. Bugs is doing the dividing: one for you, one for me, two for you and one, two for me, three for you and one, two, three for me. We’re not Elmer Fudd, and we see that the constitutional crisis is no more than democrats lost the election. Barak Obama framed the crisis by saying elections have consequences. He left out that the consequence of republican victory is constitutional crisis. Balderdash.
The Democrats are in a panic because Trump surprised them. They were expecting Trump to embark on a campaign of personal revenge by prosecuting them. They even did preemptive pardons to prevent him from going after key figures. But instead, Trump ignored the Democrat politicians and went after their money. USAID is funding every left wing org in the world, and funding the media, and no doubt indirectly funding Democrat campaigns. Other agencies are doing the similar things. That is why they are in total panic.
The absolutely most atrocious display was a group of congress-people yelling “f**k Trump” to a hateful mob. I thought I was watching a high school rally.
I missed that (but believe it). When, where?
Here they are in all their psychotic glory!!!
In high school you would get suspended for the vulgarity. Inciting violence would get you expelled.
Thank God for Prof. Turley!
That’s because despite pretending it’s about democracy, the Democratic Party – at least its leadership at most supportive members – is now about fascism, that is, getting their way by bullying, intimidation and actual violence. These exclamations of victimization and losing the country, etc. are all reminiscent of the Nazis talking about how they were victims, how Poland was attacking them, etc. It’s just a tactic, like calling a people who are not colonists, colonists. They lie and mislead constantly.
In his 1960 ‘The Politics of Upheaval’ James Schlesinger describes the situation in the Roosevelt White House in 1935 when it appeared that the Supreme Court would rule against against him regarding currency regulation. “He now had in reserve a dissent of his own in the shape of a set of proclamations and orders nullifying an adverse Supreme Court decision…He meant to quote Lincoln’s warning from his first iaugural against the people resigning the government into the hands of the Supreme Court; he meant to carry the fight to the country”.
These federal courts are inferior courts. The Constitution grants authority only to the full Supreme Court. Standing with Jackson, Lincoln and Roosevelt Trump can well ‘issue proclamations’ and go to the country. The highest court in the land is that of an election of the entire people for their President. Trump won. He has the right and power set the official policy of the chief executive officer.
Odd that when Joe Biden canceled student loan debt in defiance of the Supreme Court no Democrat considered that a constitutional crisis.
Because it was not.
Maybe not, but it was definitely illegal. And it may have set a precedent for future presidents to ignore Supreme Court case law. Not a good place for our republic.
He did it with the CDC’s order for all tenants in the country don’t have to pay their rent. Broke millions of legal contacts, put huge burden on Landlords and their mortgages, remember no money came forward for landlords to help them pay their mortgages. He then told tenants, after the decision, to not pay their rent, as he disagrees with the Supreme Court.
He defied the Constitution, knowingly and purposefully. That is bad. When rebuffed by the courts, he repeated it. That’s when the crisis – in Democrat terms – occurred.
Biden did not do that. SCOTUS said he could not use a particular method to cancell student loans. Thus Biden used other methods with firmer legal standing.
Here are THE FACTS. the Dems have a slush fund to fund all of their ideology, its the US Gov. The RINOS were to chicken to fight this crap because the media (the Dem party propaganda wing) would call them racist or say they are cutting poor people, old people, starving people or MOSTLY, cutting Climate Change which we all know was/is just a grift. The Dems and many Republicans especially like McConnel have been taking kick backs, that is how congressmen in the house & senate are getting rich on 200K salaries. They are all stealing us blind.
Historically, a good example of that was Bill Clinton and a very bipartisan (e.g., Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, minimally; the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999) 85% of the 106th Congress illegally repealed Sections 20 and 32 of the Glass-Steagall Banking Act of 1933 (which helped prevent another “Great Depression” for some sixty-five years) to collapse the US economy in 2008. And, perhaps, that was just a trial run to test ‘jumping the shark’ on the American people for more of the same with Obamacare and the phony Covid-19 pandemic. Democrats-Republicans; lose-lose.
Hear Hear!
# Sure, when there’s no accountability people steal. It’s what people do. It’s the reason for laws. People aren’t naturally lawful. Politicians taking kick backs, bribery, extortion etc is part of 3rd world politics.
Money is food. There’s a huge underclass without sin, documentation of any kind. There’s no work and money is funneled to them by illegal means. Cutting off money means they’ll starve.
Food is stolen in a myriad ways and people food now at approx 1 dollar per ounce because the other 12 ounces you’ve bought go to 12 other people. That’s the inflation. The inflation of weights and measures.
It’s biblical. Do you have lamp oil? No, I have only lamp oil for me and none to spare. It’s archetypal and repetitive. It’s the story of the grasshopper and the ant.
Michael Obama told you– plant a garden. She planted her Lil WH garden. She’s 3rd world. Dump it and scramble and you’ve all seen it without any new ideas. Dance your life away. . There’s major cuts coming.
Whats Biblical, is “a man that does not work, should not eat.”