Will America's checks and balances survive the Trump 'Politburo?'

Ben Franklin warned that we had “a republic if you can keep it.” And the phrase that famous baseball announcer Mel Allen used to respond to a well struck ball headed for a home run — "Going, going, gone — now applies to that republic. 

The Constitution's system of checks and balances and divided government could soon end. President-elect Donald Trump not only transformed the Republican party into the "Make-America-Great-Again" party but also transformed the Constitution, bypassing it to form a government ruled by what looks like an incipient American Politburo.

On January 20, the Politburo takes over. The supreme leader is Trump, of course. Membership is on a transactional and temporary basis. For the moment, deputy president is the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. JD Vance, the vice president, will be the Minister of Propaganda. And as the Soviet Union had candidate members of its politburo, so too does Trump have some on probation, such as chief of staff Susie Wiles and her deputy Stephen Miller.

Trump is not merely first among equals. He is the first! And remember Politburos ultimately failed in the USSR.

Proof rests in how much the president-elect is dominating the government before even being inaugurated. The House of Representatives had agreed on a continuing resolution to keep the government open and raise the debt ceiling. The 1,550-page bill was a monstrosity of spending add-ons vital to obtaining the support of Democrats as a number of Freedom Caucus Republican members refused to vote for the legislation.

Trump, echoed by his deputy Musk, demanded that the House scrap that bill in favor of a so-called "clean" version with no add-ons.  Fearing a government shutdown, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) grudgingly complied.

But then the divided nature of government asserted itself and Trump's bill fell short. There had to be still further haggling and fighting before someone produced a bill that could pass over the objections of rebellious members of Congress. Checks and balances still required legislative compromise. But will this persist after Trump takes office next month, with control of both houses of Congress and a six-justice majority on the Supreme Court?

The soon-to-be-president can be seen as the 21st century equivalent of the Roman god Janus, who had two faces — one face looking to the past, the other to the future. The crucial question is, which Trump will be president?

In his prior life before becoming the 45th president, Trump had a most unsavory history.  His business career, despite the spin, comprised more failures and disasters than successes. He had been aggressive with women and faced many related allegations, including one that would later cost him more than $80 million in civil court.

Trump's inexperience in politics and governing was obvious when he took office in 2017. And no president’s conduct has been so condemned by former aides, from Vice President Mike Pence to National Security Advisor John Bolton, with a number of senior officials in between. Trump was twice impeached and twice acquitted. And no other president or former president had been indicted in three different venues and declared guilty of thirty-four charges by a New York jury.

On the other hand, Trump showed imagination and innovation with the Abraham Accords that began the normalization of relations between the Arabs and Israelis. And having left off on January 20, 2021 in disgrace, Trump engineered one the most impressive comebacks in American political history. 

So which Trump will assume office?

Trump can be gracious, humorous and appealing. He is a great salesman. He can also be imperious and vulgar. If the analogy of the Politburo applies, how long will Trump be able to dominate government before gridlock sets in? And will he be a benevolent autocrat or one for whom retribution becomes policy?

America has never been at this political precipice before. Many accused Franklin D. Roosevelt of being an elected dictator, but that was nonsense — the Supreme Court checked Roosevelt’s power, declaring several of his key programs unconstitutional. Who will check or balance Trump’s Politburo if he abuses or exceeds his legitimate authority?

Perhaps the bullet creasing his right ear changed Trump. Whether or not that is true remains to be seen as a new American Politburo government takes over.

Dr. Harlan Ullman is UPI’s Arnaud deBorchgrave Distinguished Columnist; Senior Advisor at Washington D.C.’s Atlantic Council, chairman of two private companies and principal author of the doctrine of shock and awe. His forthcoming book, co-written with General Lord David Richards, former U.K. Chief of Defense, is "The Great Paradox: Strategic Thinking in an Unstrategic World."