Isa Abbott, Opinion Editor–
Once every few weeks, my mom forwards me political articles she thinks I’d find interesting. In her email, she wrote to me, “There is some resistance stirring… Hope is alive!”
In this article by Heather Cox Richardson in “Letters from an American,” one particular section had caught my attention.
Richardson wrote, “Today, the hotel had to be evacuated after someone claiming to be ‘MAGA’ emailed a threat claiming to have rigged four bombs: two in the hotel, one of Fanone’s mother’s mailbox, and one in the mailbox of John Bolton, Trump’s former national security advisor turned critic. After listing the names of several of the conference attendees–and singling out Fanone–the email said they ‘all deserve to die.’ The perpetrator claimed to be acting ‘[t]o honor the J6 hostages recently released by Emperor Trump.’”
Perhaps I should have recognized it much sooner, but it was at this moment that I realized MAGA was not just a far-right political group, but rather a terrorist group. They are literally inflicting extreme violence for their political and ideological gain.
It was a few days after that email that I texted my mom and asked her how any of Trump and MAGA’s actions were allowed, even when they are unconstitutional or unlawful in America. Was America’s constitution too weak to stop Trump or was it that the institution was too “Republican”-filled to uphold rule of law, allowing Trump to get away with any actions and orders?
To begin, in Trump’s 2016-2020 presidency, he appointed three of nine Supreme Court justices, all of which were conservative Republicans. Today, there are six Republicans and three Democrats on the Supreme Court. In addition to this, Republicans are the majority in every branch of government. This is key because Republicans can be more likely to vote in favor of any executive order from president Trump. Those executive orders may be criminal or lack civility, but they are allowed to pass through government authorities because the supreme court granted immunity for presidents to present unconstitutional and unlawful officials acts, including executive orders.
In recent news, Trump says he will enact a “gold card,” to be sold for $5 million to immigrants. What he is doing is selling American residency to immigrants who are already wealthy, even though many immigrants come to America to become wealthier. He also suggests that it will “be a bargain” because they will not have to deal with tariffs in their previous country if they come to America. Trump’s use of “gold cards” is a business deal on American citizenship to pay down U.S. debt and he is doing it unlawfully by ignoring Congress’s legislation to begin selling these cards in the next two weeks. It is also unlawful, as he cannot sell any form of green cards in excess of Congress’ caps. It seems he is trying to sell away something he cannot provide to immigrants, which may lead to stealing their money and sending them back to their country for U.S. economic gain. In addition to this, Trump has notified immigrants that they must register, which should be well noted as something that Nazi Germany also had forced onto to Jews.
In addition to this, Elon Musk, with no actual place in government, sent an email demanding federal workers to list their accomplishments and he notified federal workers to expect a “pulse check” email. Musk also joined Trump’s first cabinet meeting; a meeting in which he has no governmental authority to attend.
In the last month, Trump’s presidency has had me question whether or not the constitution is strong enough to take this presidency, and whether or not its existence even matters anymore. There is nothing in the constitution that says a felon cannot run for president and there is nothing that would question Musk’s authority to do any of the previously listed actions. As far as Trump’s plan to sell “gold cards” goes, it is more of an institutional matter.
Without passing through Congress, Trump cannot legally sell “gold cards” as actual forms of American residency. However, I worry about whether or not it will pass if every branch is overruled by Republicans, many in support of Trump.
I also worry if political powers will care more about the economic gain America would receive than the ethics of this plan. Also in terms of the institution, I fear it is not strong enough to uphold rule of law when it comes to letting out convicted Jan. 6 felons. It was a fact that Jan. 6 ended in multiple deaths and extreme trauma for many, and for those who inflicted that pain on others to be let out of prison is insane to me.
Let’s be honest, if these people were not white, they likely would be facing much worse criminal charges and being let out of prison would be out of the question. As I see it, America is headed toward a dictatorship that is building to a slight angle of Nazism, and the institution is too money and power blind to see it. As far as anyone is concerned, the constitution cannot save us now.
At the end of the article my mom sent me that week, Richardson quotes Senator Margaret Chase Smith’s Declaration of Conscience. She says, “I think that it is high time for the United States Senate and its members to do some real soul searching and to weigh our consciences as to the manner in which we are performing our duty to the people of America and the manner in which we are using or abusing our individual powers and privileges. I do not want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny–Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear.”
In the last few weeks, we are reminded that there are people within the institution who are fighting to protect the rule of law based upon their conscience and ethics of what they know to be American and not bigotry.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, stood up to Trump in person, and though his response was that he would see them in court and that he was the law, the institution knows that is not true, whether or not they are Republican.
Richardson adds, “It’s a good week to remember that politicians used to use as a yardstick the saying: ‘As Maine goes, so goes the nation.’”
I think it is high time we as a nation follow political leaders in standing up to Trump and his follower’s use of extreme power for their own gain. My mom was right, hope is alive because there is something in the air stirring resistance against MAGA, and we get to decide whether or not we will stand on the side of ethics, kindness, hope, and love, or on the side of the Four
Isa Abbott ‘28 is a politics and public affairs major from Indianapolis, Indiana.