How the government is bracing to be led by a criminal fascist

In some ways, living through the second Trump presidential transition is much like the first. 

Everyone is trying to figure out which of his unhinged campaign promises will come to fruition first and which Trump true believers will be given portions of the government to wreck. 

But there’s one huge difference this time around: Donald Trump is a convicted felon who spurred his followers into a violent insurrection based on lies. The very text of the 14th Amendment bars him from holding office, but the United States Supreme Court decided it would be a bridge too far to actually enforce the Constitution when it comes to Trump. 

Regrettably, the majority of American voters also decided the whole convicted felon thing wasn’t a deal-breaker either. 

There’s no precedent for this, no roadmap for how American democracy might survive it. So now we’re watching government institutions try to strengthen themselves against the onslaught of personal and political illegality that Trump represents.