In January, days after Donald Trump was inaugurated for the second time, British analyst Andrew Payne noted the president’s “extraordinary degree of political power.”
“Some describe him as a dictator, a king, or even an emperor—and for now, that perception is not entirely unfounded.” But Payne predicted that “no leader, not even Trump, is immune to the constraints of political time.”
“As a second-term president, his authority faces an unavoidable expiration date. Unless he succeeds in changing the Constitution—an unlikely prospect—his presidency will end in four years.” Payne also cited the Republicans’ “razor-thin” margins in the House and Senate as a huge limitation on Trump’s power, along with the predictable emergence of a contest among Republicans to succeed Trump in the 2028 election.
For the last eight months, T…
