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Executive order (EO) count over the last few presidents: * Bush (41): 166 * Clinton (two terms): 364 * Bush (43; two terms): 291 * Obama (two terms): 276 *

Executive order (EO) count over the last few presidents: * Bush (41): 166 * Clinton (two terms): 364 * Bush (43; two terms): 291 * Obama (two terms): 276 * Trump (45): 220 * Biden: 162 * Trump (47; <1 year): 218 Source: * https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/executive-orders https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/executive-or... Someone commented that (one of?) the reason that Trump is using EOs so much is probably because is not willing (or able) to actually get deals on in the legislature to pass his policies (or what passes for policy with him).

conception 10mo ago
Or why bother when no one will stop you from ruling by fiat?
- nh23423fefe 10mo ago
  Yes, why would you bother not exercising power you possess?
  - scythmic_waves 10mo ago
    Yep. I punch literally everyone I meet in the face. I have the power to do it. Why would I not?
    - janalsncm 10mo ago
      Is assaulting people going further your goals? Presumably EOs further the President’s goals.
      - estimator7292 10mo ago
        Many of those goals are to simply hurt the "wrong" type of people.
        N_Lens 10mo ago
        “And then the leopards ate my face”
      - gtirloni 10mo ago
        If it does further my goals then it's fine to punch people in the face?
        chroma205 10mo ago
        [flagged]
        fwip 10mo ago
        Do you actually believe this?
    - nh23423fefe 10mo ago
      You don't have that power, you'll either be beaten by your adversaries unless you only target weak people. And then you'll be arrested. You don't have the power you claim to have. You can't punch people.
  - deleted 10mo ago
    [deleted]
  - gopher_space 10mo ago
    Do you mean “restraint”?
  - some_guy_nobel 10mo ago
    > Yes, why would you bother not exercising power you possess? By that logic, I suppose well-funded police should respond to every call with a SWAT team, or at the least guns drawn? (I guess Uncle Ben's quote in Spiderman actually wasn't redundant!)
LPisGood 10mo ago
I once heard it said that Trump governs like a dictator because he is too weak to govern like a president. He is extremely unpopular and his party holds one of the smallest house majorities ever.
- Alupis 10mo ago
  There is a very vocal opposition to Trump. However, by almost any way you can present "popularity" of a president - be it approval ratings, polling figures, popular vote, electoral vote, etc. - he is one of the more popular presidents in US history. It's easy to get caught in an echo chamber of like-minded individuals and assume everyone disagrees with his policies - but that is far from reality.
  - lesuorac 10mo ago
    > However, by almost any way you can present "popularity" of a president - be it approval ratings, polling figures, popular vote, electoral vote, etc. - he is one of the more popular presidents in US history. You might want to look up those data yourself because uh he's actually unpopular in those metrics. Approval - 42.5% [1]. Much better than Trump's love interest Biden's 37.1% [2] but being below 50% is unpopular. Popular Vote / Electoral Vote - 49.8%, 312. I may need to tell you this so I will. 50% is greater than 49.8%; a majority of voters (nevermind the country) did not want Trump. As before, this is better than Biden's 306 and Trump1's 304 but worse than Obama2 (332), Obama1 (365) and in general 312 (57%) is nothing to write home about. [1]: https://www.natesilver.net/p/trump-approval-ratings-nate-silver-bulletin https://www.natesilver.net/p/trump-approval-ratings-nate-sil... [2]: https://www.natesilver.net/p/why-biden-failed https://www.natesilver.net/p/why-biden-failed
  - mullingitover 10mo ago
    > he is one of the more popular presidents in US history. Published today: "Trump's approval rating on the economy hits record low 31%"[1] > President Trump's approval rating on his longtime political calling card — the economy — has sunk to 31%, the lowest it has been across both of his terms as president, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC. "Trump's Approval Rating Drops to 36%, New Second-Term Low" [2] > his all-time low was 34% in 2021, at the end of his first term after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The man is only two points above where he was when every reputable institution on the planet was running away from him as fast as possible, and he was nearly convicted in the senate. Less than a year into the term. [1] https://www.axios.com/2025/12/12/trump-economy-inflation-affordability https://www.axios.com/2025/12/12/trump-economy-inflation-aff... [2] https://news.gallup.com/poll/699221/trump-approval-rating-drops-new-second-term-low.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/699221/trump-approval-rating-dr...
cdrnsf 10mo ago
EOs also aren't laws, they're instructions on how to execute policy. This administration treats them as the former. Everything they do, however, is petty, cruel and nakedly corrupt while also being marred by a total lack of competence.
- sterlind 10mo ago
  I think the Administration is likely to get its toys taken away soon. the Major Questions Doctrine, the end of Chevron deference, the mandate for Article III courts from Jarkesy, have been building towards this for a while. the capstone in this program of weakening the administrative state, overturning Humphrey's Executor when Trump v. Slaughter is decided, will likely revive the Intelligible Principle Doctrine, as Justice Gorsuch has hinted. the same trend is apparent in the IEEPA tariffs case, where non-delegation got a lot of airtime. EOs lose a lot of their punch when the Executive's delegated rulemaking and adjudication powers are returned back to their rightful owners in the other two branches.
  - Hnrobert42 10mo ago
    I fear by reducing control over executive power to one, squishy standard like the Intelligible Principle Doctrine will let SCOTUS pick and choose which laws have intelligible principles. When conservatives are in power, suddenly all laws will have them. And swing back when liberals are in control.
  - Refreeze5224 10mo ago
    I don't know where you get the confidence that any of that matters to SCOTUS. They know their role, and they are playing.
    - parineum 10mo ago
      SCOTUS has ruled against Trump numerous times.
      - thrance 10mo ago
josh_p 10mo ago
Yes, and.. Each EO tests the waters a bit more with what the public and other branches will tolerate. As we’ve seen with numerous orders already, Congress and business will comply early because they think it will benefit them. Trump thinks himself a king. He acts like it. He’s attempting to normalize his behavior. He can’t deal with the legislature because it turns out white supremacy isn’t that popular. Who knew?
- noitpmeder 10mo ago
  Apparently popular enough to get him elected. It's not like his supporters were under any pretense who or what they were voting for
  - josh_p 10mo ago
    I think the GOP, the right, etc. do propaganda very well. And they’re good at spinning scandals into things their voter base wants to hear. Or just burying them in a way that makes it hard for their base to find. Even the centrist TV networks are still treating Trump like a normal president. News like the NYTimes does the same, while platforming horrible people in their op ed section. Edit: anec-data - I have an embarrassing number of family members that voted for him. I asked why and the surprising common thing among all of them was they just didn’t know. The felonies, convictions, scandals, the racism and transphobia. They were just surprised. And they’re not very good at thinking critically about much of it. Instead they’re voting for some nostalgia and the idea that they felt safer and more secure in their country when they were younger.
    - exogeny 10mo ago
      Ross Douthat makes me (figuratively) vomit every time I read his nonsensical garbage.

conception 10mo ago

Or why bother when no one will stop you from ruling by fiat?

nh23423fefe 10mo ago
Yes, why would you bother not exercising power you possess?
- scythmic_waves 10mo ago
  Yep. I punch literally everyone I meet in the face. I have the power to do it. Why would I not?
  - janalsncm 10mo ago
    Is assaulting people going further your goals? Presumably EOs further the President’s goals.
    - estimator7292 10mo ago
      Many of those goals are to simply hurt the "wrong" type of people.
      - N_Lens 10mo ago
        “And then the leopards ate my face”
    - gtirloni 10mo ago
      If it does further my goals then it's fine to punch people in the face?
      - chroma205 10mo ago
        [flagged]
        fwip 10mo ago
        Do you actually believe this?
  - nh23423fefe 10mo ago
    You don't have that power, you'll either be beaten by your adversaries unless you only target weak people. And then you'll be arrested. You don't have the power you claim to have. You can't punch people.
- deleted 10mo ago
  [deleted]
- gopher_space 10mo ago
  Do you mean “restraint”?
- some_guy_nobel 10mo ago
  > Yes, why would you bother not exercising power you possess? By that logic, I suppose well-funded police should respond to every call with a SWAT team, or at the least guns drawn? (I guess Uncle Ben's quote in Spiderman actually wasn't redundant!)

LPisGood 10mo ago

I once heard it said that Trump governs like a dictator because he is too weak to govern like a president. He is extremely unpopular and his party holds one of the smallest house majorities ever.

Alupis 10mo ago
There is a very vocal opposition to Trump. However, by almost any way you can present "popularity" of a president - be it approval ratings, polling figures, popular vote, electoral vote, etc. - he is one of the more popular presidents in US history. It's easy to get caught in an echo chamber of like-minded individuals and assume everyone disagrees with his policies - but that is far from reality.
- lesuorac 10mo ago
  > However, by almost any way you can present "popularity" of a president - be it approval ratings, polling figures, popular vote, electoral vote, etc. - he is one of the more popular presidents in US history. You might want to look up those data yourself because uh he's actually unpopular in those metrics. Approval - 42.5% [1]. Much better than Trump's love interest Biden's 37.1% [2] but being below 50% is unpopular. Popular Vote / Electoral Vote - 49.8%, 312. I may need to tell you this so I will. 50% is greater than 49.8%; a majority of voters (nevermind the country) did not want Trump. As before, this is better than Biden's 306 and Trump1's 304 but worse than Obama2 (332), Obama1 (365) and in general 312 (57%) is nothing to write home about. [1]: https://www.natesilver.net/p/trump-approval-ratings-nate-silver-bulletin https://www.natesilver.net/p/trump-approval-ratings-nate-sil... [2]: https://www.natesilver.net/p/why-biden-failed https://www.natesilver.net/p/why-biden-failed
- mullingitover 10mo ago
  > he is one of the more popular presidents in US history. Published today: "Trump's approval rating on the economy hits record low 31%"[1] > President Trump's approval rating on his longtime political calling card — the economy — has sunk to 31%, the lowest it has been across both of his terms as president, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC. "Trump's Approval Rating Drops to 36%, New Second-Term Low" [2] > his all-time low was 34% in 2021, at the end of his first term after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The man is only two points above where he was when every reputable institution on the planet was running away from him as fast as possible, and he was nearly convicted in the senate. Less than a year into the term. [1] https://www.axios.com/2025/12/12/trump-economy-inflation-affordability https://www.axios.com/2025/12/12/trump-economy-inflation-aff... [2] https://news.gallup.com/poll/699221/trump-approval-rating-drops-new-second-term-low.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/699221/trump-approval-rating-dr...

cdrnsf 10mo ago

EOs also aren't laws, they're instructions on how to execute policy. This administration treats them as the former. Everything they do, however, is petty, cruel and nakedly corrupt while also being marred by a total lack of competence.

sterlind 10mo ago
I think the Administration is likely to get its toys taken away soon. the Major Questions Doctrine, the end of Chevron deference, the mandate for Article III courts from Jarkesy, have been building towards this for a while. the capstone in this program of weakening the administrative state, overturning Humphrey's Executor when Trump v. Slaughter is decided, will likely revive the Intelligible Principle Doctrine, as Justice Gorsuch has hinted. the same trend is apparent in the IEEPA tariffs case, where non-delegation got a lot of airtime. EOs lose a lot of their punch when the Executive's delegated rulemaking and adjudication powers are returned back to their rightful owners in the other two branches.
- Hnrobert42 10mo ago
  I fear by reducing control over executive power to one, squishy standard like the Intelligible Principle Doctrine will let SCOTUS pick and choose which laws have intelligible principles. When conservatives are in power, suddenly all laws will have them. And swing back when liberals are in control.
- Refreeze5224 10mo ago
  I don't know where you get the confidence that any of that matters to SCOTUS. They know their role, and they are playing.
  - parineum 10mo ago
    SCOTUS has ruled against Trump numerous times.
    - thrance 10mo ago

josh_p 10mo ago

Yes, and.. Each EO tests the waters a bit more with what the public and other branches will tolerate. As we’ve seen with numerous orders already, Congress and business will comply early because they think it will benefit them. Trump thinks himself a king. He acts like it. He’s attempting to normalize his behavior. He can’t deal with the legislature because it turns out white supremacy isn’t that popular. Who knew?

noitpmeder 10mo ago
Apparently popular enough to get him elected. It's not like his supporters were under any pretense who or what they were voting for
- josh_p 10mo ago
  I think the GOP, the right, etc. do propaganda very well. And they’re good at spinning scandals into things their voter base wants to hear. Or just burying them in a way that makes it hard for their base to find. Even the centrist TV networks are still treating Trump like a normal president. News like the NYTimes does the same, while platforming horrible people in their op ed section. Edit: anec-data - I have an embarrassing number of family members that voted for him. I asked why and the surprising common thing among all of them was they just didn’t know. The felonies, convictions, scandals, the racism and transphobia. They were just surprised. And they’re not very good at thinking critically about much of it. Instead they’re voting for some nostalgia and the idea that they felt safer and more secure in their country when they were younger.
  - exogeny 10mo ago
    Ross Douthat makes me (figuratively) vomit every time I read his nonsensical garbage.