The administration was deporting people to countries they’d never lived in, with as little as six hours’ notice, with no meaningful chance to say “I’ll be killed if you send me there.” A federal judge ruled it unlawful. An appeals court expressed unease. The administration kept pushing anyway. This isn’t about whether someone should be deported. It’s about whether the government has to follow basic legal procedure before shipping a human being to a country where they might face persecution, torture, or death. Six hours. That’s what they were offering. Six hours to somehow prove you’ll be murdered if they put you on that plane. ...

He threw himself a military parade. And then threatened anyone who showed up to protest it. Trump warned that demonstrations around his parade would be met with “very big force.” Not “we’ll handle any disturbances appropriately.” Not “law enforcement will maintain order.” Very big force. Said out loud, in public, about American citizens exercising their constitutional right to protest. This is a president using the language of military intimidation against his own people for disagreeing with him in public. ...

The U.S. Army turned 250 years old. Trump turned 79. Guess whose party it became. A massive military parade rolled through Washington on Trump’s birthday, with Trump front and center as the focal point of the whole spectacle. The Army’s 250th anniversary — a genuine milestone worth celebrating — got absorbed into a made-for-TV event built around one man’s image. This is what authoritarian aesthetics look like when they’re trying to seem normal. You don’t announce “I’m having a military parade for myself.” You find a legitimate occasion, you attach yourself to it, and you make sure the cameras can’t tell the difference between honoring the institution and honoring you. ...

He says he’s joking. He’s not joking. Trump told NBC he was “not joking” about a third term and that there are “methods” to make it happen. The 22nd Amendment is not ambiguous. Two terms. That’s it. That’s been the law since 1951. There is no method. There is no loophole. There is no constitutional path. But he keeps saying it. And that’s the point. This is how authoritarian instincts work in a democracy — you don’t announce you’re going to torch the Constitution, you just keep suggesting it’s negotiable. You say it’s a joke when people push back. You say you’re “not joking” when the crowd cheers. You float the idea until it stops sounding outrageous and starts sounding like just another political debate. ...

On his first day back in office, Trump pardoned the people who attacked the Capitol to stop the certification of an election he lost. Not a few disputed cases — sweeping clemency for most January 6 defendants, sentence commutations for 14 others, and orders to dismiss pending cases and release prisoners immediately. Let that sink in. People who beat cops, smashed windows, and tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power got pardoned. On day one. Before he did anything else. ...