I didn't mean to say he couldn't become, essentially, a dictator. If that's how it came across, let me clarify. I think he can do just about whatever he wants at this point. I just don't think he can enforce martial law from coast to coast. The thing is, even his supporters, when faced with soldiers patrolling their streets, are going to find themselves outraged when they have to be in bed by 6.
Short of that, I 100% believe there is no opposition capable of stopping anything he wants to do at this moment. He's proven no one can either stop him or make him do anything, and like the man-child he is, he'll just keep pushing. Unless the GOP rises up (not holding my breath on that), I assume there will be an election in November (because states will hold one), but he won't adhere to any result he doesn't like. They've all got the taste of raw power in their mouths now.
I think we might be defining "do anything he wants" differently when it comes to his power.
Trump is a classic bully. He can't do anything he wants really. An awful lot of what he threatens or claims he's done isn't true. A lot of times he says 'I will do' or 'we will see' or 'they better do X or watch out for Y'. Then he starts a new news cycle of outrageous things and the threat is never carried out. Or he writes and Executive Order that either has no real teeth or it is simply tied up in the courts (similar to his threats to sue everyone** before he was POTUS). It does cost people a lot of money but even with all this federal bench stuffing, he has lost most cases so far.
Take this example, there are dozens (more?):
Breitbart News: Exclusive – Trump on Campus Free Speech Executive Order: ‘We’re Going to Do a Very Big Number’ Probably ‘Next Week’
President Donald Trump says he expects “to do a very big number” regarding an anticipated executive order on free speech on college campuses potentially next week.
“When they don’t allow free speech, we’re going to do a very big number,” the president responded when asked by Breitbart News’ Deputy Political Editor Amanda House about the executive order he teased during his speech this month at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU).
“You know we give billions of dollars to these universities and they won’t allow free speech? That’s not what our country’s all about,” he said.
“I’ll probably be doing it next week,” Trump revealed, adding his administration is planning to make it “very tough.”
So just what did he do? Nothing. He does this kind of thing all the time. It makes him feel powerful. And it makes people believe he's powerful, not because they believe all these blowhard threats, but because they are left with the image he carries these threats out.
Here's a more recent hollow threat:
HuffPo: Trump Campaign Threatens TV Stations That Air Ad Critical Of President
Not removing the ad about rising U.S. coronavirus cases “could put your station’s license in jeopardy,” the Trump campaign warned.
First the campaign sent the cease and desist letter and when that failed, Trump sent it.
The Trump campaign has asked Twitter to tag videos claiming that Trump called the virus a hoax as “manipulated media,” but, so far, the social media network hasn’t complied, according to The Hill.
Meanwhile, Priorities USA doesn’t seem too worried about the legal threats ― especially since they’ve helped the video go viral:
(The Twitter threat is ironic.) The message might be going both ways, his base hears the video is false; while calling attention to it gets it free air time on TV news stations and in the social media.
The bottom line is, he makes these threats all the time. Sadly the effective Ex Orders that are successful are the ones devastating the environment but even some of those are hollow. Which coal burning company is going to dismantle their smokestack scrubbers knowing the next POTUS is going to reverse the order? And car manufacturers are not going to take pollution controls out anytime soon. Even his claim he's going to let coal mining companies dump dangerous chemicals in the waterways didn't increase coal mining or mining jobs. There is a shrinking market for coal.
That doesn't mean he hasn't done tremendous damage. There is no question he's done that. But he's not the all powerful authoritarian he pretends to be.
**
USA Today: Exclusive: Trump's 3,500 lawsuits unprecedented for a presidential nominee
Just since he announced his candidacy a year ago, at least 70 new cases have been filed, about evenly divided between lawsuits filed by him and his companies and those filed against them. And the records review found at least 50 civil lawsuits remain open even as he moves toward claiming the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in seven weeks. On Tuesday, court documents were released in one of the most dramatic current cases, filed in California by former students accusing Trump University of fraudulent and misleading behavior.
The legal actions provide clues to the leadership style the billionaire businessman would bring to bear as commander in chief. He sometimes responds to even small disputes with overwhelming legal force. He doesn’t hesitate to deploy his wealth and legal firepower against adversaries with limited resources, such as homeowners. He sometimes refuses to pay real estate brokers, lawyers and other vendors.
As he campaigns, Trump often touts his skills as a negotiator. The analysis shows that lawsuits are one of his primary negotiating tools. He turns to litigation to distance himself from failing projects that relied on the Trump brand to secure investments. As USA TODAY previously reported, he also uses the legal system to haggle over his property tax bills. His companies have been involved in more than 100 tax disputes, and the New York State Department of Finance has obtained liens on Trump properties for unpaid tax bills at least three dozen times.
And despite his boasts on the campaign trail that he “never” settles lawsuits, for fear of encouraging more, he and his businesses have settled with plaintiffs in at least 100 cases reviewed by USA TODAY. Most involve people who say they were physically injured at Trump properties, with settlements that range as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The man threw around threats of "I'll sue you" whenever he didn't get his way. He might have had the ability to bankrupt people with legal bills, like a bully. But he didn't win those lawsuits often. And he got sued himself almost as many times.