Summary
Trump’s defiance of court orders—refusing to release funds or reinstate officials—signals a dangerous drift toward dictatorship.
Courts use civil and criminal contempt to enforce orders, yet their power relies on DOJ-controlled agencies like the Marshals and Bureau of Prisons.
If the DOJ ignores or pardons contempt findings, judicial authority is undermined.
With Congress failing to check executive overreach, Trump’s persistent noncompliance erodes the rule of law.
The situation risks transforming government into a dictatorship unless public outrage and political resistance reverse this trend.
Alternatively, the easier sign (since a good chunk of the courts are complicit) is when we started being ruled by decree. The second easiest is when language is getting policed.
After checking my notes, that started January 20, 2025, when sweeping Executive Orders were decreed that are being treated as the force of law when they most certainly are not. The removal of “T” from LGBTQ, and enforcement of the stupid, unilateral renaming of the Gulf of Mexico is the other.
Congratulations, we live in a dictatorship.
Id argue its still in pieces thanks to the states, itll be felt more directly in say Arkansas rather than say California. Though I guess thats like comparing Nizhy Novgorod to the Vladivostok, but its still a factor to consider.