Has America Traded Democracy for Autocracy?

Some short articles on what's new in Trump World. I've included these brief articles after I have asked the question, "Has America Traded Democracy for Autocracy?" I certainly have a strong opinion but other readers can decide on their own.

It’s Only White-Collar Crime

In April 2025, nursing home operator Joseph Schwartz was convicted of a $39 million fraud. He was found guilty of failing to pay employment taxes withheld from employees at his nursing homes. Schwartz accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to three years in federal prison. However, President Donald Trump pardoned him just three months into a three-year prison term. Imagine that, millions of dollars in nursing home fraud, and he gets a three-year sentence? Because he’s a white-collar criminal, he was sentenced to a federal prison instead. Half of all Americans are struggling to pay their bills, and wealthy individuals who donate to Trump’s campaign or say good things about him receive a mulligan.

How Many Times Did Trump Promise to Release His Tax Returns?

On several occasions, Trump promised to release his tax returns. That never happened. In January of this year, Trump and his sons sued the IRS for $10 billion over the leak of their tax returns during Trump’s first term. The suit claims the IRS should have done more to prevent this. It was leaked by an IRS contractor. Please tell me, Mr. Trump, how you can prevent leaks? Especially leaks that show you didn’t pay the correct amount of taxes in the years around 2010. A few days ago, Mr. Trump agreed to drop his lawsuit against the IRS, and the Trump administration will create a fund to help those he feels were wrongly prosecuted by the federal government (Todd Blanche, Trump’s acting Attorney General, was also involved in this settlement). In addition, as part of the deal, it was reported that Trump and his family are now immune to any future prosecution by the IRS. Is this acting AG behaving as Trump’s personal attorney or serving as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government?

A Campaign Promise by Trump Means Nothing

Prior to the U.S. and Israel attacking Iran (this attack was initiated by Israel), the Strait of Hormuz was open for maritime traffic. During the war, it was opened and then closed; during the ceasefire, it appears to be open. The fact that the strait has been closed for some time and that the war is ongoing has led to a significant increase in global oil prices. As you may have learned in economics, it’s the good old “supply and demand” equation. Because less oil (and natural gas and fertilizer too) has been shipped, demand has exceeded supply, so the price of a barrel of oil has increased essentially since the start of the war. I remember too well that this president promised to keep the U.S. out of any foreign conflicts. Perhaps that was only a campaign promise that he wasn’t really interested in keeping. Or maybe what happened was that AIPAC lobbied him hard and was talked into this conflict by Netanyahu.

Is he Lacking Emotional Intelligence?

A week or two ago, Trump was asked, “So to what extent do Americans’ financial situations motivate him? His reply, “Not even a little bit.” He continued, “The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran: they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about the Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing—we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.” Apart from the lack of emotional intelligence, it’s weird that Trump continues to talk about Iran’s nuclear weapons, considering he had previously proclaimed they were “obliterated” nearly a year ago. God Bless America!

Why Aren’t Trump’s Investments During his Presidency Held in a Blind Trust?

For the first quarter of 2026, Trump filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics showing more than 3,700 transactions (about 58 per day). According to Reuters, the transactions are valued between $220 and $750 million. Unsurprisingly, his biggest purchase skewed toward the tech sector. On February 10, Trump purchased between $1 and $5 million worth of Nvidia stock. One week later, the company announced it had struck a major chip deal with Meta. In addition, one week before the Commerce Department approved the sale of Nvidia chips to China, Trump’s stock portfolio bought between $500,000 and $1 million worth of Nvidia stock. Coincidence? Not with this man!

            Is this an issue? Most presidents since LBJ have placed personal assets in a blind trust, so that arrangement is designed to prevent conflicts of interest between the president’s policy decisions and their investment portfolio. Carter did it. Reagan did it. Biden did it while others simply held U.S. Treasuries.

For those keeping score at home, are Trump’s assets in a blind trust? No, they are managed by his sons, which clearly doesn’t fulfill the requirement of a blind trust. From what I gathered, a blind trust must be administered by an independent trustee who has full discretion over the assets and ensures the beneficiary has no knowledge of the holdings.

I think it’s only right for presidents to use a blind trust, but Trump doesn’t operate like our past leaders. However, it’s not a law or a requirement. If Trump were a normal president who abided by the norms of the presidency, the issue would not be so acute. But given his past behavior, blind trust should be required of this president. My last question on this topic is, why aren’t more Americans outraged by this arrangement?

Trump Doesn’t Care About Ukraine, But With Russia, That’s a Different Question

During his campaign, Trump had said on a number of occasions that he could end the war in Ukraine on Day One. Well, it’s been roughly 16 months since he’s been in office, and the war continues between Ukraine and Russia. What’s been Trump’s response? His reply is that NATO needs to increase its annual spending to help protect itself. Indeed, that’s true, and while many NATO countries have increased their spending or have promised to do so in the near future, what has been his response? As many NATO members are paying more, will he now support Ukraine? If not, why not? Is he hiding something? In the past, Trump has suggested ending the war on behalf of Russia and suggested that Ukraine may have to forfeit some of its land to gain peace. Russia would probably accept that deal, but this land was taken illegally, and most Ukrainians are not about to do that, especially after trying to thwart Russia’s aggression for the last four or five years.

            What has Trump’s response been? Let’s invade Venezuela and replace Maduro with someone friendly toward the United States. Many say this has been successful, which may have emboldened Trump to go along with Israel and attack Iran. After spending roughly $1 to $2 billion per day for nearly two months, Trump is trying to find a way to end the war without causing too much inconvenience to the world and claim a win. It’s always about a win. I’m hopeful there can be a peaceful resolution in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, but now it appears the Trump administration is itching for a fight in Cuba. So much for Trump’s campaign promise of not getting involved in international conflicts or wars.

Why is There so Much Hate in Trump’s Heart?

The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868. This Amendment grants citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the U.S. It also ensures that no state can deny any person “life, liberty or property” without due process of law. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) took on a case involving birthright citizenship.

            Trump said, “It would be a disgrace if the (SCOTUS) allows that to happen,” and added, “It’s all up to a couple of people, and I hope they do what’s right.” When he says, “I hope they do what’s right,” he means, I hope they will again side with my argument. Incredibly, Trump became the first president to attend an oral argument at the court. Spending about one hour, he listened to several arguments before abruptly getting up and walking out of the active session. A critique of this action might suggest he was attempting to wield his power and intimidate the justices. And why not? In 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that a president is immune from any prosecution for any conduct involving his duties as the head of the executive branch of the United States. After his appearance, Trump wined that the SCOTUS had “not even recognized or acknowledged” his presence. Sounds like a king to me, not someone who presides over one of the coequal branches of our government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial).

Writer's Note: And, until now, I didn't even mention the Epstein Files. Over the last year or so, how much of changing subjects or introducing new executive actions is his way of the American public from learning more about the Epstein files?

Has America Traded Democracy for Autocracy?