# The argument that Trump will do whatever he wants and no one can stop him is really fucking boring **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [December 12, 2024, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527 "2024-12-12T02:36:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 39
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/761 "2025-04-16T00:56:26Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > “Free _rein_,” goddamn it! He does appear to want to be king. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/762 "2025-04-16T00:58:09Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > This one does. Those alternative definitions of the phrase are not commonly adopted, and when you use them you’re making a false accusation, even when you don’t mean to. Anyway, I was only participating here to push back against the idea that nobody is making this argument. I agree with you that it’s not very many people who are making the argument. Whether or not the gadfly is worthy of its own thread is just a matter of opinion that we disagree about, and I respect that. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/763 "2025-04-16T00:59:00Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > The black/white, all/nothing, either/or fallacy aspect of it, perhaps? So you find the complete black/white argument that Trump will have absolute power and there is no point in discussing any possibility of him being constrained, to be a poor one and a rhetorical dead end? If so, congratulations you support my OP. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/764 "2025-04-16T01:01:03Z")
I find it unknowable, since it hasn’t yet occurred or failed to occur. Which means we should be given the grace to have substantive discussions about the subject without being hectored mercilessly by one Doper. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/765 "2025-04-16T01:08:48Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > I find it unknowable, since it hasn’t yet occurred or failed to occur. Okay, that’s wrong. He is constrained on a regular basis. If you’re arguing that there may be some future date where he seizes ultimate power and becomes a dictator, and you can’t argue it won’t happen because you can’t prove a negative, that’s fair. It _could_ happen, just as I _could_ somehow find out I’m the heir to some vast fortune I’ve never heard of and then retire on my own private island. (Which probably won’t happen, but technically it _could_.) But that’s not the argument; it’s that Trump isn’t being constrained now. That people can’t tell him “no”. They can. They do. They are. It’s happening regularly. He certainly gets away with a lot he shouldn’t, but there’s a lot he doesn’t get away with. His strategy this time around seems to be to file countless executive orders, and celebrate the few that aren’t blocked. I’m sure that when Buck says: > [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Trump will have absolute power That’s talking about the present tense, not some undefined point in the future, though Buck can clarify. (But if that is the argument, that’s diverging from the OP significantly.) ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/766 "2025-04-16T01:09:34Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Okay, that’s wrong. He is constrained on a regular basis. The story is ongoing, not over. That’s a really important point. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/767 "2025-04-16T01:16:58Z")
Fine, I’ll answer it for you. The answer is FALSE. Trump CANNOT do whatever he wants and people CAN stop him. We know this because he HAS been stopped, multiple times - by courts blocking his actions, by Congress not acquiescing to his demands, and by public backlash to his decisions. If you want to be able to resist Trump, it is ESSENTIAL to acknowledge this. Arguing that he can’t be stopped is an argument against TRYING to stop him. Saying that court victories don’t matter because he’ll just ignore them is (besides not being true) an argument against taking him to court. It’s an argument against protesting him if you declare that no amount of protests will change his mind. It’s an argument against speaking out if public opinion doesn’t matter. If you argue that he cannot be stopped then you are surrendering. So if you want to resist him, then stop trying to convince people it won’t do any good. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/768 "2025-04-16T01:18:01Z")
The story is ongoing, not over. That’s a really important point. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/769 "2025-04-16T01:22:03Z")
That doesn’t change the fact that you can’t meaningfully resist an enemy that you’ve already decided is unbeatable. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/770 "2025-04-16T01:22:55Z")
It constantly sounds like you who has decided that. Me? Here’s what I think: The story is ongoing, not over. That’s a really important point. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/771 "2025-04-16T01:25:19Z")
What I think is that you’re a coward who’s unwilling to take a stand and would rather sit on the sidelines and let someone else stick their neck out for democracy, and you’re trying to come up with reasons to tell yourself you shouldn’t feel guilty for not doing anything. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/772 "2025-04-16T01:26:08Z")
Give me a hug, Big Man!! MWAH! ETA: > [@DavidNRockies](#): > > Couple that with his arrogant insistence that people being pessimistic _makes_ them fatalistic, paralyzed, and/or suicidal. How many of us must tell him that this is NOT what he’s seeing before he even begins to accept that we know what’s in our heads better than he does? > > If we aren’t worried on his terms, then we aren’t worried correctly. It’s insulting, condescending, and exhausting. Time for another sabbatical from you. See you round. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/773 "2025-04-16T01:30:13Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You still haven’t explained how you’re actively fighting the Supreme Court. I said I was a actively fighting the Supreme Court? When and where did _this_ happen? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/774 "2025-04-16T01:32:26Z")
Hell if I know. I’ve been trying to get you to answer that question since November. You asked me and I answered, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/775 "2025-04-16T01:34:39Z")
So, it never happened at all? Glad we got _that_ cleared up! ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/776 "2025-04-16T01:49:29Z")
Yes, it establishes that you’re a hypocrite for insisting that I should be doing more to fight the admin than you’re willing to do. > [@Surprises coming for voters for the Leopards-Eating-Faces Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprises-coming-for-voters-for-the-leopards-eating-faces-party/1010166/519): > > At what point do you actively fight against their ruling? Thanks for the admission. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/777 "2025-04-16T02:02:14Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > My guess is that he already has. My guess is Garcia’s not the only one who’s been deported illegally and has been or will be “disappeared” in El Salvador. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/778 "2025-04-16T02:17:38Z")
Fighting the admin is the same thing as actively fighting The Supreme Court??? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/779 "2025-04-16T02:19:40Z")
I was assured that the Supreme Court is completely in the bag for Trump and will do whatever he commands and that I was a naive fool for thinking otherwise, hypocrite. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2025, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527/780 "2025-04-16T02:26:25Z")
I would indeed be a hypocrite if I said something like that, wouldn’t I? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527.md?page=38) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-argument-that-trump-will-do-whatever-he-wants-and-no-one-can-stop-him-is-really-fucking-boring/1011527.md?page=40)