Donald Trump is staring down the barrel of humiliating failure. He swept into office on big promises about making America great again, but a peek at the news suggests that after ten months, it’s anything but.
Grocery prices remain sky high, healthcare is being snatched from voters’ hands, his tariffs have weakened America and strengthened China, agriculture is in freefall, the government is shut down, voters are aghast at his armed goon squads on the streets, and the international reputation of the United States as a beacon of freedom and reliable trade partner is in the toilet. Even his much-vaunted “eternal peace” in Gaza is collapsing as Israel resumes its genocide.
A frustrated Trump is now looking for someone to blame for all this chaos. Top of the list: those pesky judges who keep saying what he’s doing is unconstitutional and illegal. Trump has been annoyed by judges ruling against him on various issues for months, recently blowing his top at Oregon district judge Karin Immergut for blocking him from deploying the National Guard in Portland.
Now, Trump is threatening to activate the little-used 1807 “Insurrection Act”, a rarely used piece of legislation that allows the president to mobilize the U.S. military as civilian law enforcement. The Act is rarely invoked, with the last instance in 1992 in response to the Los Angeles riots.
Trump: "I'm allowed as you know as president, like 50% of the presidents have used the Insurrection Act. Everybody agrees you're allowed to use that and there is no more court cases, there is no more anything. We're trying to do it in a nicer manner, but we can always use the… pic.twitter.com/FIwUHyOaGl
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 20, 2025
Describing it as “the strongest power a president has” he went on to incorrectly assert that a majority of presidents have used it:
“I’m allowed as you know as president, like 50% of the presidents have used the Insurrection Act. Everybody agrees you’re allowed to use that and there is no more court cases, there is no more anything. We’re trying to do it in a nicer manner, but we can always use the Insurrection Act.”
Absolute power
Trump is feebly trying to argue that all he wants is “crime-free cities”, which of course means giving his armed goons absolute power to drag anyone off the streets they don’t like the look of. Anyone with a molecule of brainpower will be able to tell that achieving a “crime-free” city is impossible, even under the strictest and most authoritarian regime – particularly if you’re the one defining what a “crime” is.
Trump using the Insurrection Act is, in reality, a power grab and a way for him to escape any accountability or resistance to his whims. Using this to override the checks and balances that restrict any single individual from amassing too much political power in the United States would be a major step towards a dictatorship.
These laws were designed on the basis that future presidents would be honorable, respect the rule of law, and uphold the principles of the Constitution. Trump is none of the above, making him a uniquely dangerous figure for America. Who knows where we’ll be come the new year?
