Washington / Los Angeles / New York – He is a president on a collision course. With millions of people. With constitutional principles. With the notion that the state shouldn’t kick down your door while you’re serving dinner. Donald Trump calls it “security.” His opponents call it “dismantling the state.” What is currently unfolding in the United States is not merely an escalation of immigration policy – it is the deliberate dismantling of civil society, an authoritarian campaign against cities, states, and people who do not fit into Trump’s worldview. After the “No Kings” protests mobilized millions of people last weekend – many out of concern over immigration policy and violence against innocents – the president responded not with dialogue, but with command. ICE, the immigration enforcement agency, was made the spearhead of a domestic offensive whose severity is starting to unsettle even many Trump voters. In Los Angeles, the result was tear gas, burning cars, roadblocks – all triggered by mass arrests in immigrant neighborhoods. Trump responded by deploying National Guard troops, despite the veto of California Governor Gavin Newsom, whom he now publicly refers to only as “Newscum.”
What is sold as a fight for law and order is in reality an attack on democratic oversight. Trump invokes wartime powers, speaks of an “invasion,” deploys masked federal agents who drag people silently from sidewalks. Construction workers, waiters, farmhands – often without a criminal record, without warrants, without identification of the officers. Construction sites lie empty, farm regions are at a standstill, entire neighborhoods appear deserted. The Los Angeles Dodgers recently denied ICE agents access to the stadium – outside, hundreds of demonstrators gathered while baseball continued inside. America is divided. And fear is growing. Even among public officials: New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested on June 17 as he escorted a migrant from a court hearing. The accusation: “obstruction of an arrest.” Video footage shows Lander being tackled by masked officers. U.S. senators like Alex Padilla have also been attacked. Meanwhile, the president has introduced a bill to fund 10,000 new ICE agents – plus 5,000 customs officers and 3,000 border patrol agents. He openly speaks of “mass deportations,” the “rollback of leftist unlawful zones,” and the “cleansing of our cities.”
But his rhetoric now extends far beyond immigration. On Truth Social, Trump recently attacked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, calling him a “numbskull” – one of the most destructive people in government – and a “Trump hater.” Although Trump himself nominated Powell, he now openly considers firing him: “Maybe, just maybe, I’ll change my mind about firing him.” In an administration that openly threatens the arrest of elected officials, even the independence of monetary policy is no longer secure. The ACLU warns: “We are witnessing a militarization against our communities like nothing we’ve seen in our lifetimes.” And further: “This is not a security strategy – it is the calculated dismantling of democratic control, with the aim of breaking critics and eliminating space for resistance.” ICE agents are increasingly operating without identification, and police forces are losing the trust of those they are meant to protect.
Former police lieutenant Diane Goldstein says: “We are disappearing people – and we are even disappearing American citizens. That is not what we do.” And yet – Trump remains unmoved. He is no longer a president who argues. He commands. He threatens. He strikes. The United States, as it functioned for decades – with checks and balances, with independence, with civil rights – seems to be crumbling each day under his boots. While entire neighborhoods fall silent, while children are afraid to go to school, while even baseball stadiums become arenas of polarization, Trump continues his path. And leaves behind a country not falling apart – but being systematically brought into line.
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