To the editor:
Donald Trump has made a career of testing the limits the law and society place on him. He uses the judicial system as an unwitting accomplice. When he loses in court; he appeals until he makes it to the Supreme Court, where there are usually six reliable votes for him. He also knows that as he uses the government to advance his goals, he can wear down his opponents who run the risk of financial ruin.
On January 20, 2025, he swore to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, an oath he now questions. When he and those around him are asked about his failure to follow due process and habeas corpus, they wrongly state that, as president, he does not have to abide by those rules.
In his first term, Trump surrounded himself with people who pushed back on his inappropriate and illegal impulses. To avoid this happening again, he has surrounded himself with loyalists who willingly follow his directives. The Department of Justice and the FBI are no longer apolitical. Their heads act as if they are Trump employees as they politicize their agencies.
Trump gauges reactions to what he says; making Canada the 51st state, militarily taking over Greenland, and removing Palestinians from Gaza to create a “Riviera on the Mediterranean” were never well received, so now he rarely mentions them. But he joked about pursuing a third term, which is clearly a violation of the Constitution, so you can expect Republicans to laugh it off until they are pressured by Trump to support this whim.
Due to Trump’s “big beautiful bill” the House passed by one vote and his ruinous tariffs debacle that some Republicans criticize but do nothing to take back the need for congressional approval of tariffs, there is a good chance they will lose their House and Senate majorities. If that were to happen, you can expect Pam Bondi to insist with no proof that there was widespread election fraud, stopping Democrats from taking seats they won while Republicans continue to govern. Just as happened with cases in 2020 when Trump claimed fraud and that the election was stolen, Trump will lose every court case but keep appealing as this drags on. Can’t happen? Watch.
Frank Gunsberg
Great Barrington
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