Occasionally, Donald Trump and his team have a day — a single, 24-hour period — in which the president’s authoritarian-style vision comes into focus. Consider this unsettling timeline:
Monday, June 30, in the mid-afternoon: The president tried to “turn the screws” on Japan, one of the United States’ top trading partners, threatening to unilaterally impose new tariffs, without congressional approval, unless Japan agreed to his demands.
Monday, June 30, in the mid-afternoon: Team Trump, as part of a multifaceted offensive against Harvard University, made a highly dubious announcement that the administration believes the school violated the Civil Rights Act over antisemitism.
Monday, June 30, in the evening: Trump threatened Elon Musk, his top campaign donor and former White House adviser, saying he was prepared to have the Department of Government Efficiency re-examine the billionaire’s government contracts.
Tuesday, July 1, in the afternoon: The president, the White House “border czar,” and his homeland security secretary spoke publicly about having CNN “prosecuted” for airing reports the White House didn’t like.
Tuesday, July 1, in the afternoon: After vowing to block Zohran Mamdani’s agenda in New York City, Trump questioned whether the Democratic mayoral candidate is a legal citizen, said his administration is examining Mamdani’s immigration status, and mused publicly about arresting the candidate.
Tuesday, July 1, in the afternoon: After one of the president’s allies asked about arresting former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Trump directed his current DHS secretary to investigate her predecessor.
Tuesday, July 1, in the afternoon: Trump floated the possibility of deporting American citizens.
Tuesday, July 1, in the afternoon: The president announced that he would approve a Florida plan to deputize National Guard members to work as immigration judges.
Tuesday, July 1, in the afternoon: While touring a controversial detention facility for immigrants in Florida — the so-called Alligator Alcatraz — Trump publicly referred to Joe Biden as a “son of a b—-” because of a baseless conspiracy theory.
Tuesday, July 1, in the afternoon: Trump, for the first time, suggested he was personally and directly involved in the scandal surrounding New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the demise of the federal corruption charges Adams was facing.
Tuesday, July 1, in the afternoon: Trump’s lawyers accepted what two Democratic senators described as a “bribe,” to benefit the Republican’s future library, from Paramount Global as part of a baseless lawsuit over one of the president’s conspiracy theories about CBS News and “60 Minutes.”
Tuesday, July 1, in the afternoon: As The New York Times reported, the Trump administration, for reasons that went unexplained, decided not to release nearly $7 billion in federal funding “that helps pay for after-school and summer programs, support for students learning English, teacher training and other services.” The funding was approved by Congress and scheduled to reach educators, but Team Trump decided that the money would not be available.
Individually, these developments are unsettling to those who take democracy seriously, but let’s not miss the forest for the trees: These aren’t just disconcerting stories; they’re collectively one dramatic story about a president and an administration that’s increasingly overt in his indifference to the American system and the rule of law.
What’s more, this 24-hour period wasn’t especially unusual. Over the last six months or so, Americans have seen a great many days just like this one.
Alas, there’s every reason to believe there will soon be many more, too.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
