Analysis

Donald Trump's return to office in 2025 has only deepened the patterns established in his first term. With emboldened authority and a loyalist political apparatus, these anti-democratic tendencies have escalated.

1. Loyalty Over Legality: Appointments and Purges

Trump has prioritized personal loyalty above qualifications in key legal and law enforcement positions:

• DOJ Loyalty Campaign: Installed loyalists in senior Justice Department roles, reversing prior institutional independence (Washington Post, April 2025)
• Purge of Watchdogs: Fired remaining Inspectors General and replaced them with political appointees (Wikipedia, Jan 2025)
• Politicized Prosecutors: Empowered district attorneys and U.S. Attorneys with political mandates rather than impartial justice goals (The Washington Post, May 2025)

2. Retaliatory Investigations and Legal Weaponization

The Trump administration has increasingly used the power of the federal government to punish critics and opposition figures:

• DOJ Investigations into Political Opponents: Ordered federal investigations into Democrats, Biden family members, and former January 6 investigators (ABC News, April 2025)
• Use of IRS and Regulatory Agencies: Heightened audits and compliance actions targeting political adversaries (NPR, April 2025)
• Calls for Military Tribunals: Floated the use of extrajudicial tribunals for "traitors," a violation of legal norms (Political Wire, July 2024)

3. Attacks on Judicial Independence

Trump has escalated efforts to delegitimize judges who challenge his policies:

• Public Shaming of Judges: Openly attacked federal judges by name, branding them “activists” or “enemies” (The Guardian, May 2025)
• Defiance of Court Orders: Delayed or ignored rulings on immigration, surveillance, and protest rights enforcement (The Independent, March 2025)
• Stacking Lower Courts: Continued efforts to flood federal courts with loyalist jurists to blunt future legal challenges (Axios, May 2025)

4. Legal Immunity and Constitutional Evasion

Trump has sought to establish unprecedented protections for himself and close allies:

• Presidential Immunity Doctrine: Declared sitting and former presidents immune from prosecution for actions “in office” (The Guardian, July 2024)
• Executive Order Shielding Allies: Issued sweeping clemency and immunity for individuals implicated in election interference and the January 6 insurrection (Wikipedia, Jan 2025)
• Defiance of Congressional Oversight: Stonewalled subpoenas and hearings, rendering accountability mechanisms inert (The Conversation, Jan 2025)

5. Public Acceptance and Institutional Decay

Perhaps most troubling is the erosion of public and institutional resistance:

• Media Sane-Washing and Normalization: Fear of retribution tempers media reporting (Axios, May 2025)
• Normalization of Legal Irregularities: Repeated legal abuses now draw muted responses from media and Congress (Guardian, Feb 2025)
• Declining Whistleblower Protections: Fear of retaliation and lack of enforcement has chilled internal dissent (Reuters, Feb 2025)
• Judiciary Under Pressure: Increasing instances of self-censorship among judges facing political backlash (Brennan Center, June 2017)

Conclusion

In his second term, Donald Trump has accelerated the degradation of legal norms that began in his first. Through purges, legal weaponization, defiance of court orders, and pursuit of immunity, his administration is reshaping the U.S. legal system into a tool of personal power. Without urgent reinforcement of checks and balances, the rule of law faces irreversible collapse.