America has an imperial presidency
And in Donald Trump, an imperialist president for the first time in over a century
WHAT WILL Donald Trump do next? A decade after he became the Republican front-runner, it is still the urgent question. In a distracted era Mr Trump has an unmatched genius for grabbing attention. And for reimagining presidential power. His second inauguration took place in the Capitol’s Rotunda, the same spot where four years earlier his supporters had punched police officers in the face. The power he used to pardon the Capitol rioters on January 20th was originally designed to bring the nation together: to pardon political opponents, not the president’s supporters (or members of the outgoing president’s family). But that was the convention, not the law, and with Mr Trump in power, conventions are over.
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This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Project 1897”
Leaders January 25th 2025
From the January 25th 2025 edition
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