The constitutional rot isn’t subtle when a president quotes a dead emperor to justify authoritarianism. Checks and balances? More like decorative hurdles for a man who treats the Oval Office like a monarchy audition.

Judges are “corrupt” precisely when they remind him laws exist beyond his Twitter feed. Führerprinzip comparisons aren’t hyperbole—they’re diagnostics for a democracy on life support.

But let’s not kid ourselves. This system was always a rigged game, a performative democracy where billionaires and broken institutions swap power like trading cards. Trump’s just the loudest symptom of the decay, not the cause. Exile him to an island, and the next demagogue will rise from the same septic tank.