The Perilous Imperial Presidency: A Bomb with a Lit Fuse

Presidents Barack Obama, Donald J. Trump, and Joseph Biden—presidential power can easily be abused and weaponized against political dissent—beware of future presidents who may wield such power with fury, vengeance, and retribution.

The American presidency is a loaded gun; history shows it has been fired at will. From Lincoln’s jailing of dissenters to FDR’s caging of Japanese Americans, from post-9/11 surveillance to Trump’s executive order spree, presidents have stretched their power like a rubber band ready to snap. Today, the Trump 47th administration is supercharging this imperial presidency, setting the stage where a future Democrat could turn the tables, weaponizing government against MAGA folks and Trump allies in a way that makes Biden’s tenure look like a Sunday picnic. Congress, asleep at the wheel, needs to step in before this power grab becomes a partisan vendetta machine.

History is littered with presidents acting as if they are above the Constitution. Take Abraham Lincoln, 1861: with the Civil War raging, he suspends habeas corpus, locking up 20,000 individuals—think newspaper editors, loudmouth politicians like Clement Vallandigham—without a trial. Chief Justice Roger Taney says, “Hold up, only Congress can do that.” Lincoln shrugs and continues jailing. Free speech? Squashed. Constitutional checks? Ignored. The excuse? War. The precedent? A presidency that can do what it wants when “safety” is on the line.

Fast-forward to Franklin Roosevelt, the New Deal’s golden boy turned wartime autocrat. His Executive Order 9066 in 1942 herded 120,000 Japanese Americans—citizens, mind you—into camps, no evidence, just fear of “disloyalty.” Congress barely blinks; the Supreme Court rubber-stamps it in Korematsu. FDR’s broader game—churning out executive orders to bypass Congress—makes him a one-man legislature. Crisis, again, is the hall pass for trampling rights.

Then comes 9/11, and the PATRIOT Act of 2001 hands the presidency a surveillance jackpot. Label someone an “enemy combatant,” and poof—no trial, no lawyer. Ask Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen locked up for years. Edward Snowden’s 2013 leaks exposed the NSA scooping up your emails, calls, everything, no warrant needed. The Supreme Court pushes back in Boumediene v. Bush (2008), but the Act’s skeleton still haunts, ready for any president to play J. Edgar Hoover on steroids.

Enter Trump, 2025, round two. His first term? 220 executive orders, more than most presidents, from Muslim bans to raiding Pentagon funds for a border wall—moves courts often slapped down. Now, with the Supreme Court’s 2024 Trump v. United States ruling granting immunity for “constitutional duties,” he’s got a green light. Executive orders fly: immigration crackdowns, deregulation blitzes, maybe even a stab at birthright citizenship. Congress, packed with GOP loyalists, nods along. X posts scream about “kingly rule,” and historians like Kevin Kruse warn we are sleepwalking into a system where the president’s pen trumps the Constitution.

This is not just Trump’s show. He is building a toolkit—legal, political, cultural—that any successor can grab. Trump’s moves, paired with past abuses, serve as a blueprint for chaos. If a Democrat wins in 2028, that blueprint could fuel a revenge fantasy against MAGA and Trump’s crew.

Picture 2029: a Democrat takes the White House, riding a wave of anti-Trump fury. The electorate is split, social media is a warzone of memes and manifestos, and the new president has a score to settle. What’s stopping them from turning Trump’s playbook against his base? Nothing. The PATRIOT Act is still in place, allowing them to tag MAGA rally-goers as “domestic terrorists” for warrantless surveillance or detention. Remember Padilla? That could be a Proud Boy or a Trump donor—sent to the GITMO lodge for an extended bed-and-breakfast stay. Executive orders could freeze the bank accounts of Trump-aligned groups, bar them from jobs, or slap “extremist” labels to silence them. Sound far-fetched? Lincoln jailed critics for less; FDR interned citizens on a hunch.

The IRS could audit every MAGA nonprofit, reviving Obama-era Tea Party scrutiny but on steroids. The FBI, with a partisan nudge, could dig into Trump allies’ lives, searching for dirt. Trump’s immunity ruling shields the president from blowback, and a polarized Congress—Democrats cheering, Republicans gridlocked—will not stop it. Biden never went this far; his executive actions were tame, often undone by courts. But a future Democrat, armed with Trump’s precedents and historical power grabs, could make retribution a policy, not just a political meme on social media. Civil liberties? Collateral damage. Political opposition? A crime.

This mess exists because Congress continues to hand the presidency a blank check. Lincoln’s jailings? Congress blessed them after the fact. FDR’s camps? No pushback. PATRIOT Act? Passed in a panic. Trump’s order binge? Crickets from the Hill. The Constitution designates Congress as the lawmaker, the war-declarer, and the overseer. So why is it acting like a bystander?

Wake up, Congress. Limit emergency powers—fix the 1976 National Emergencies Act so presidents need your approval within 30 days. No more “crisis” excuses for targeting enemies. Rein in executive orders with a bipartisan review panel, sending questionable ones to court swiftly. Think Trump’s citizenship gambit or a Democrat’s MAGA blacklist. And eliminate the PATRIOT Act’s worst provisions—surveillance and detentions—before they’re turned on the next scapegoat. Bipartisanship is tough, but the 1975 Church Committee proved Congress can check abuses when it grows a spine. Many have already called for it, so act before our Republic explodes like a bomb, plunging us into a deep abyss of despotic executive branch overreach with no return to the freedoms enshrined in our Constitution.  

The imperial presidency is not a theory—it is a loaded weapon, and Trump is loading it faster than ever. Historical abuses show how it is used: against dissenters, minorities, and anyone labeled a threat. A future Democratic president on a retribution tour, fueled by partisan rage, could aim it at MAGA and Trump’s allies, dwarfing past overreach. Congress can stop this cycle of vengeance by reclaiming its role: legislate, oversee, and check. The Constitution is not a suggestion. If we let the presidency rule like an emperor, we are not just risking rights—we are begging for a republic where power, not principle, calls the shots. Act now, or brace for the fallout.