KQED's Forum How Trump Redefined the Power of the Presidency One Year Into Second Term
Jan 15, 2026
Steven Levitsky, a Harvard political scientist specializing in authoritarianism, and Vikram Amar, a constitutional law expert at UC Davis, delve into how Trump has redefined presidential power. They discuss the legal gray areas Trump has exploited and the concerning rise of partisanship that allows such actions to go unchecked. Levitsky highlights the dangers to democracy from Trump's maximalist mindset, while Amar calls for either constitutional reform or re-empowering Congress to restore balance. Together, they explore the implications of these shifts for the future of American governance.
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Partisan Targeting Makes Abuses Worse
- Levitsky highlights both qualitative and quantitative differences from past abuses: today's violations are systematic, partisan, and often go unpunished.
- He views targeted partisan abuse as especially corrosive compared with earlier, less partisan violations.
Re-Empower Congress To Restore Checks
- Laura Brown urges re-empowering Congress and reviving institutional self-guarding to check executive overreach.
- She recommends strengthening political norms and congressional assertion rather than immediate constitutional rewrites.
Three Lost Layers Of Restraint
- Vikram Amar and others note historic norms and internal restraints once constrained presidents, but those norms and 'adults in the room' are weakened now.
- Loss of congressional independence and institutional socialization worsens executive danger.
