Trump 1 vs. Trump 2: The role of the two other branches of government (legislative and judicial)

There’s a lot of discussion about how the second Trump administration is much more out of control than the first, and I’ve seen lots of reasons offered for this. In no particular order: – This time there are no “grownups” in cabinet positions to talk the president out of bad ideas. Instead, the government is run by some combination of ideologues and airheads–sometimes both at once!–who actively come up with bad ideas themselves. – Trump is getting older and more incoherent and delusional, which diminishes his common sense, increases his susceptibility to whatever stupid or criminal idea is proposed to him, and reduces his ability to resist bad ideas or to weigh options. – Lack of serious consequences for the 6 Jan 2021 insurrection emboldens extremists within the government to break more laws. – The news media environment is more fragmented, so it’s easier for the government to dodge bad coverage. – At this point Trump is so unpopular that his party is likely to lose lots of seats in…