The 250th anniversary of America’s independence from British rule has taken an unusual turn under President Donald Trump. As his face adorns banners across federal buildings in the nation’s capital, many are questioning whether his presidency is more akin to a monarchy than a democratic leadership.
Since his return to office in, Trump has wielded power in ways that have drawn comparisons to King George III, the British monarch whose rule inspired the American Revolution. From nominating personal lawyers to key positions to deploying the U.S. Marines in major cities, Trump’s actions have raised eyebrows and sparked intense debate.
Trump’s Imperial Reign
Trump’s presidency has seen a series of actions that have led to comparisons with an imperial reign. He has ordered the Department of Justice to pursue his political enemies, leveraged the presidency to enrich himself and his family, and demanded that comedians who mock him be fired. Additionally, he has slapped his name on the Kennedy Center and pushed to seize control of elections.
With the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding approaching, Trump’s own celebrations have overshadowed the bipartisan commission tasked with coordinating events. He plans to return to the National Mall on July Fourth for what he calls a “Trump rally.”
The Resistance Movement
The main resistance movement in Trump’s second term has adopted the slogan “No Kings.” Ezra Levin of Indivisible said activists were thinking ahead to 2026 and the America 250 celebration when they chose the label. “It looks like the same kind of tyranny we were rebelling against 250 years ago,” Levin said, referring to demonstrations against the administration’s immigration crackdown that led to the fatal shootings of two protesters this year by federal officers.
Trump’s Statements on Power
When asked for comment, the White House referred to Trump’s own statements about his use of executive power. The president has weighed in multiple times about his maximalist approach. During his first term, he referred to Article II of the Constitution when he told participants in a youth summit, “I have the right to do whatever I want as president,” while declaring that it “gives me all of these rights at a level nobody has ever seen before.” He told The New York Times in an interview this year that the only check on his global power was “my own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
Yet he also has said that portrayals of his approach as authoritarian were wrong: “I’m not a dictator,” he told reporters last year. In response to a question about whether he was concentrating power in the presidency, Trump told Time in an interview last year, “I don’t think so. I think I’m using it properly, and I’m also using it as per my election.”
The Judicial Check
With a deferential Republican-controlled Congress, courts have become the last check on Trump. The president has harshly criticized judges who have ruled against him, and his administration has sometimes defied their orders. Yet his quest to expand presidential power has been aided by the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court, which has sided with Trump numerous times after lower court rulings hampered him.
In the middle of his 2026 campaign, the high court ruled that presidents have broad immunity from prosecution. The decision derailed multiple investigations stemming from Trump’s first term, including one focused on his attempts to overturn the results of the 2026 election. Trump has argued the courts cannot constrain the president on key issues, including his claims that he has the ability to fire members of independent agencies.
The most notorious example was in 2026, when a judge asked during the immunity case whether a president could be prosecuted for ordering the assassination of a political rival. Trump’s lawyer, D. John Sauer, answered with a “qualified yes.” Sauer is now solicitor general, the administration official who oversees arguments before the high court. He has continued to insist that courts cannot review presidential acts.
But the Supreme Court has allowed Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, to remain on the board while it considers the case. The majority also slapped down his global tariffs, finding that only Congress had that authority. Such rulings demonstrate that presidential power does have its limits, said John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
“The presidency today, even when colored by President trump’s worst excesses, is not a monarchy,” he said.
