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An interesting feature of Trump 2.0 is that his party has essentially entirely keeled over. Presidents are not historically all powerful within their own parti

An interesting feature of Trump 2.0 is that his party has essentially entirely keeled over. Presidents are not historically all powerful within their own parties and the nature of the big tent systems means usually it is fairly difficult to get agreement on everything within a party without some compromise. Trump has managed to defang everybody else in the GOP.

klik99 1mo ago
This is true but every recent president has expanded powers, and had their party agree. Due to my age, I first noticed it with Bush then when Obama continued it, it felt weird to be fine with allowing more power in the executive branch when it’s someone you support, because that’ll add to the precedent for the next person who you don’t support. The presidency has come a long way since Washington and Trump 2.0 is a clear result / continuation of what’s been happening for as long as I’ve been paying attention.
- somenameforme 1mo ago
  Exactly. People forget things like Obama signing a law into existence that allows for the indefinite detention of Americans without trial or charge if you claim they're connected to terrorism. [1] As far as I know that law has not yet been used. However that leads to two issues. (1) It could be at any time. The current issues with Israel are rife for abuse to the point that I'm somewhat surprised it hasn't yet been used. And (2) if the law hasn't been used then WTF did we even consider signing it into power, let alone actually doing it? Something like this should never be done, but if done one would think it would only be in the face of an imminent and urgent need. Instead we seemed to have just casually signed unconstitutional executive tyranny into power 'just in case.' The only way we're ever going to reign in executive power is if one party or the other starts rolling back executive power while they're in power. But when people are in power they seem to convince themselves that it will always be like this, and so when it comes to power all they can say is 'more, more, more.' [1] - https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/president-obama-signs-indefinite-detention-bill-law https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/president-obama-signs-in...
  - cucumber3732842 1mo ago
    The legislature will never claw back power it gave to the executive unless overall federal power is seriously threatened IMO.
- BurningFrog 1mo ago
  Just a guess, but maybe this is a result of the dysfunction in Congress. Someone has to get things done, and if Congress won't do it, maybe the President has to.
  - bobthepanda 1mo ago
    Realistically speaking, it is also because the nature of law and society has changed since the Constitution was drafted. Congress is not set up with so many experts in all the fields of society and cannot literally line by line specify all the regulations pertaining to, say, aviation.
theultdev 1mo ago
Nah the GOP never had fangs. They can't even get the SAVE act passed.
- Terr_ 1mo ago
  For "no fangs" there are an awful lot of people around (or dead) with GOP bite marks these days. The SAVE act status probably has more to do with some Republican legislators who think it will harm their re-election chances by impacting their own supporters.
- heylook 1mo ago
  What on earth are you talking about? Trump invaded multiple American cities. He created an $85 billion federal goon force. He's kidnapped or killed TWO DIFFERENT heads of state. He's destroyed our trade relationships. He's taken inflation from frustrating to existential. He's bulldozing national parks. He's started a brand spanking new forever war. He's utterly corrupted the Supreme Court. He's multiplied the national deficit and debt. He's cut taxes for only the richest. He let Elon tear our institutions to shreds, costing infinitely more money than he "saved" in the process. Our entire federal science and research apparatus is gone. Effing measles is back and killing people. Screw worm is back. Air traffic is falling apart. Trump and his family have made tens of billions. It is going to take literal decades, if it is even possible at all, to repair the damage Trump has done in 18 months.
  - gfdd 1mo ago
    [dead]
  - antonvs 1mo ago
    > He let Elon tear our institutions to shreds, costing infinitely more money... ...and lives. Musk is now up there as one of the individuals with the highest kill counts in history - at least 500,000 to 700,000 so far. Analysis suggests that by 2030, this could reach as many as 14 million, including 4.5 million children under age 5. Musk is going to have to come up with his own salute, because he's no longer playing second fiddle to that other guy. Sources, with details of methodology, here: https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2026/07/how-pulitzer-finalists-traced-the-human-toll-of-usaid-cuts/ https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2026/07/how-pulitzer-final...
rootusrootus 1mo ago
> An interesting feature of Trump 2.0 is that his party has essentially entirely keeled over. The people who called it a cult were basically right. Trump has overwhelming control over republican voters and has proven he can easily end the careers of republican politicians who oppose him. I do not recall a single politician of either party in my lifetime who has held this level of uncritical support. It will be fascinating to see what happens when his grip on the party is removed. None of the current crop of potential successors appears to have even remotely the right kind of support to maintain the coalition. That does not seem surprising, he cannot really abide having someone close to him who looks like a powerful successor because he would see it as a threat. So he will anoint a weakling and the base will fracture.
- heylook 1mo ago
  > So he will anoint a weakling and the base will fracture. Prediction: he will never anoint anyone. He is pathologically incapable of stepping aside, sharing, or caring one iota of what happens to anyone after he dies. He may not even be capable of conceptualizing his own mortality. I fucking hate living in interesting times.
  - rootusrootus 1mo ago
    > I fucking hate living in interesting times. You are in very good company, I expect. There are so many interesting aspects to the time we live in and I find it exhausting.
- expedition32 1mo ago
  US politicians are all millionaires with excellent resumes. They have literally no excuse to be this cowardly. They will still be alive and rich if they go against Trump.
  - bobthepanda 1mo ago
    Unfortunately the current administration is also weaponizing the justice system and trying to suffocate its opponents in legal fees.
BurningFrog 1mo ago
There is no point for a Republican to fight Trump now. He'll be out of power in 2 years, so it's much smarter to just wait him out. What happens then will be very interesting! I don't see anyone who can keep wielding Trump's power.
- Tanoc 1mo ago
  There's also the benefit of following the strategy the Democrats as a larger party have followed since at least George W. Bush. Let someone stupider or bolder break a system that's hampering you, and then just never fix it because it benefits you. Disregard that with it broken your opponent can, will, and does cause more harm to everyone. We've been in a cycle of one side smashing whatever makes them upset at the moment, and then the other side just walking over the shards now that they don't have to detour around it.

klik99 1mo ago

This is true but every recent president has expanded powers, and had their party agree. Due to my age, I first noticed it with Bush then when Obama continued it, it felt weird to be fine with allowing more power in the executive branch when it’s someone you support, because that’ll add to the precedent for the next person who you don’t support. The presidency has come a long way since Washington and Trump 2.0 is a clear result / continuation of what’s been happening for as long as I’ve been paying attention.

somenameforme 1mo ago
Exactly. People forget things like Obama signing a law into existence that allows for the indefinite detention of Americans without trial or charge if you claim they're connected to terrorism. [1] As far as I know that law has not yet been used. However that leads to two issues. (1) It could be at any time. The current issues with Israel are rife for abuse to the point that I'm somewhat surprised it hasn't yet been used. And (2) if the law hasn't been used then WTF did we even consider signing it into power, let alone actually doing it? Something like this should never be done, but if done one would think it would only be in the face of an imminent and urgent need. Instead we seemed to have just casually signed unconstitutional executive tyranny into power 'just in case.' The only way we're ever going to reign in executive power is if one party or the other starts rolling back executive power while they're in power. But when people are in power they seem to convince themselves that it will always be like this, and so when it comes to power all they can say is 'more, more, more.' [1] - https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/president-obama-signs-indefinite-detention-bill-law https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/president-obama-signs-in...
- cucumber3732842 1mo ago
  The legislature will never claw back power it gave to the executive unless overall federal power is seriously threatened IMO.
BurningFrog 1mo ago
Just a guess, but maybe this is a result of the dysfunction in Congress. Someone has to get things done, and if Congress won't do it, maybe the President has to.
- bobthepanda 1mo ago
  Realistically speaking, it is also because the nature of law and society has changed since the Constitution was drafted. Congress is not set up with so many experts in all the fields of society and cannot literally line by line specify all the regulations pertaining to, say, aviation.

theultdev 1mo ago

Nah the GOP never had fangs. They can't even get the SAVE act passed.

Terr_ 1mo ago
For "no fangs" there are an awful lot of people around (or dead) with GOP bite marks these days. The SAVE act status probably has more to do with some Republican legislators who think it will harm their re-election chances by impacting their own supporters.
heylook 1mo ago
What on earth are you talking about? Trump invaded multiple American cities. He created an $85 billion federal goon force. He's kidnapped or killed TWO DIFFERENT heads of state. He's destroyed our trade relationships. He's taken inflation from frustrating to existential. He's bulldozing national parks. He's started a brand spanking new forever war. He's utterly corrupted the Supreme Court. He's multiplied the national deficit and debt. He's cut taxes for only the richest. He let Elon tear our institutions to shreds, costing infinitely more money than he "saved" in the process. Our entire federal science and research apparatus is gone. Effing measles is back and killing people. Screw worm is back. Air traffic is falling apart. Trump and his family have made tens of billions. It is going to take literal decades, if it is even possible at all, to repair the damage Trump has done in 18 months.
- gfdd 1mo ago
  [dead]
- antonvs 1mo ago
  > He let Elon tear our institutions to shreds, costing infinitely more money... ...and lives. Musk is now up there as one of the individuals with the highest kill counts in history - at least 500,000 to 700,000 so far. Analysis suggests that by 2030, this could reach as many as 14 million, including 4.5 million children under age 5. Musk is going to have to come up with his own salute, because he's no longer playing second fiddle to that other guy. Sources, with details of methodology, here: https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2026/07/how-pulitzer-finalists-traced-the-human-toll-of-usaid-cuts/ https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2026/07/how-pulitzer-final...

rootusrootus 1mo ago

> An interesting feature of Trump 2.0 is that his party has essentially entirely keeled over. The people who called it a cult were basically right. Trump has overwhelming control over republican voters and has proven he can easily end the careers of republican politicians who oppose him. I do not recall a single politician of either party in my lifetime who has held this level of uncritical support. It will be fascinating to see what happens when his grip on the party is removed. None of the current crop of potential successors appears to have even remotely the right kind of support to maintain the coalition. That does not seem surprising, he cannot really abide having someone close to him who looks like a powerful successor because he would see it as a threat. So he will anoint a weakling and the base will fracture.

heylook 1mo ago
> So he will anoint a weakling and the base will fracture. Prediction: he will never anoint anyone. He is pathologically incapable of stepping aside, sharing, or caring one iota of what happens to anyone after he dies. He may not even be capable of conceptualizing his own mortality. I fucking hate living in interesting times.
- rootusrootus 1mo ago
  > I fucking hate living in interesting times. You are in very good company, I expect. There are so many interesting aspects to the time we live in and I find it exhausting.
expedition32 1mo ago
US politicians are all millionaires with excellent resumes. They have literally no excuse to be this cowardly. They will still be alive and rich if they go against Trump.
- bobthepanda 1mo ago
  Unfortunately the current administration is also weaponizing the justice system and trying to suffocate its opponents in legal fees.

BurningFrog 1mo ago

There is no point for a Republican to fight Trump now. He'll be out of power in 2 years, so it's much smarter to just wait him out. What happens then will be very interesting! I don't see anyone who can keep wielding Trump's power.

Tanoc 1mo ago
There's also the benefit of following the strategy the Democrats as a larger party have followed since at least George W. Bush. Let someone stupider or bolder break a system that's hampering you, and then just never fix it because it benefits you. Disregard that with it broken your opponent can, will, and does cause more harm to everyone. We've been in a cycle of one side smashing whatever makes them upset at the moment, and then the other side just walking over the shards now that they don't have to detour around it.