The US president is not all-powerful. If he was, Trump would not have been forced to hand over power to Biden in 2020.
Certainly he is petty and vindictive. But there have always been petty and vindictive people in power, and people that were too scared of them to speak their mind. But there have always been those who still dare to criticize people in power.
Trump resisted handing over power after the 2020 election, and to date, he has faced no significant legal consequences for those actions.
Given that lack of accountability, is it unreasonable to suggest the stakes will be even higher in 2028? If there were no consequences last time, why wouldn’t there be an even greater effort to challenge the outcome, should the need arise?
This isn’t a binary issue of whether the president is all-powerful or powerless. It’s a spectrum, and since 2020, we’ve objectively moved further toward the "all-powerful" end. The absence of meaningful checks and consequences has set a precedent, making it harder to draw the line in the future.
> Trump would not have been forced to hand over power
Can you re-read your sentence and ask yourself if this is a normal thing to say in a working democracy? That this is even on the table means Trump IS a dictator. He was just too dumb to know how to make it work in 2020. From a non American lens, it actually looks like you handed power to a dictator because he won "fair and square" this time. I have trouble believing the US will have another genuine vote in my lifetime.
It does mean he will behave dictatorially, and make dictatorial decisions as president as far as the system will allow. Previous experience (his last presidency) shows he will take every opportunity, and has a lot of leeway in your "democratic" system.
Surprisingly it doesn’t take a lot more when the political opponents don’t do shit (Biden x Garland, anyone?) or when the people either actively supports dictature or decides not to vote for… reasons.
Courts and Congress are a main check: he appointed 3 Justices, and Clarence Thomas is corrupt + qanon wife, that's 4 of 9. Already when congress has gone against him like with the shutdown he wanted at the end of Biden's term, Musk, the richest man in the world, threatened to primary them, and we'll see much more of that.
Nazi salute Musk also did a $1 million a day lottery system for republican voter registrations with some loopholes and got away with it.
Certainly he is petty and vindictive. But there have always been petty and vindictive people in power, and people that were too scared of them to speak their mind. But there have always been those who still dare to criticize people in power.