Can Trump legally do what he is doing?

No.

The President does not have the power to make laws or set tariffs. Executive Actions are not in the Constitution at all, but courts have allowed the President to use them for things under his control, such as with the bureaucracy. (A good example is when Truman gave an Executive Order integrating the military.)

Executive Orders have expanded over the years, but never to the abusive degree that Trump exercises, with orders that have nothing at all to do with his powers but instead are in essence laws that he is decreeing like some emperor.

So can he do this under the Constitution (you know, that document that he admits he doesn’t know anything about and doesn’t think he has to obey)? No. No again.

But none of that matters if no one stops him. Congress could overrule and ignore 90% of his Executive Actions, and the courts could rule them unconstitutional — but unless they act, he’s going to get away with it all.

Fortunately, some courts have ruled that he isn’t a dictator able to unilaterally issue decrees, but so far, not one Republican has decided that their oaths to defend the Constitution are meaningful compared to their loyalty to Trump. They are as unpatriotic as you can be and are the reason we are in this mess.

Election season is coming up in many states. Be sure to vote against every Republican, no matter what the position, because if they’re still a member of that party after all this, they clearly have no problem with Dictator Trump and every Republican elected just helps to strengthen the party’s power.