The Dictator Who Can't Quite Dictate: Trump's Failed Authoritarian Playbook

Six Democratic lawmakers nearly faced treason charges this week. Their crime? Telling soldiers to refuse illegal orders.

On Tuesday, Trump's Justice Department tried to indict Senators Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin, along with four other Democrats, for releasing a video that reminded military personnel that "threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad, but from right here at home." The lawmakers—all former military or intelligence operatives—simply urged their counterparts to "refuse illegal orders."

Trump declared this "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" on Truth Social. Yet when prosecutors brought their case to a grand jury—a body that almost always sides with the government and needs only "probable cause" to indict—they failed to clear even this low bar.

It's a perfect microcosm of Trump's second presidency: maximum authoritarian intent, surprisingly limited authoritarian success.

The Pattern of Failed Power Grabs

One year into his second term, Trump has attempted nearly every dictatorial move liberals feared in January 2025. He's tried to prosecute political enemies, strong-arm TV networks, deploy military against protesters, and empower immigration agents to kill with impunity.

The shocking part isn't that he's tried—it's how often he's failed.

The Justice Department's attempts to prosecute James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James were quickly dismissed by judges. The criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell hasn't forced his resignation. Even the administration's most brazen legal overreach keeps hitting constitutional guardrails.

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This week brought another telling retreat. After months of deploying federalized National Guard troops to Democratic cities—ostensibly to quell "civil unrest" but really to intimidate protesters—the administration quietly withdrew all federalized Guard units from U.S. cities, according to the Washington Post.

The reason? Pushback from courts, including the conservative-dominated Supreme Court, made the military deployment politically untenable.

Civil Society Fights Back

The resistance isn't just coming from judges. When the Federal Communications Commission tried to bully Disney into firing Jimmy Kimmel for jokes the administration didn't like, entertainment unions and Disney+ subscribers threatened boycotts. Kimmel got his job back.

When Border Patrol agents in Minnesota fired 10 shots at protester Alex Pretti, the administration tried to vilify the victim and glorify the killers. Instead, bipartisan demands for investigation forced the Justice Department to act, and the backlash eventually scaled back the administration's unprecedented deportation surge in Minnesota.

Most tellingly, despite Trump's open interest in election manipulation, Democrats have dominated special and off-year elections since he took office. American voters, it seems, are not buying what he's selling.

The Limits of Optimism

None of this suggests American democracy is thriving. Trump has succeeded in many authoritarian goals: pardoning January 6th insurrectionists, purging constitutional loyalists from Justice, intimidating news organizations, and allegedly violating immigrant detainees' human rights.

More ominously, as long as Republicans control the Senate, Trump's judicial appointments will make courts increasingly deferential to presidential power over time.

The pattern isn't democratic triumph—it's democratic resistance under extreme stress.