Trump's second term is testing America's experiment with democracy

Key Points:

• President Donald Trump marked the 250th anniversary of America's founding with a campaign-style rally on the National Mall, overshadowing the official bipartisan commission's events and reinforcing his dominant presence in Washington since returning to office in 2025.
• Trump's administration has drawn comparisons to monarchial rule due to actions such as appointing personal lawyers to key positions, targeting political enemies through the Justice Department, deploying Marines domestically, and leveraging the presidency for personal and family enrichment.
• The conservative-majority Supreme Court has frequently sided with Trump, expanding presidential immunity and limiting judicial oversight, although some rulings have imposed constraints on his authority, demonstrating that presidential power is not absolute.
• Trump has intensified conflicts of interest by profiting from cryptocurrencies linked to his administration and filing a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, while also directing federal agencies to pursue investigations of political opponents and using the White House to promote personal business interests.
• Critics and activists have adopted slogans like "No Kings" to oppose what they see as authoritarian tendencies, warning that Trump's presidency echoes the centralized power and tyranny that sparked the American Revolution.