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The Wrong Emperor

Updated: a few seconds ago

Drawn on March 1, 2024 | Published from Miami | Updated May 16, 2025

Trump looking at himself as an African dictator in a Ukrainian tinted mirror.
Wrong Emperor

The Last Monarchy


After nearly eighteen years on the throne, King Louis Philippe abdicated February 24, 1848, amid France’s third great revolution, marking the definitive end of the French monarchy. His departure paved the way for universal suffrage and, with 75% of the vote, the election of Louis-Napoléon Badinguet* Bonaparte as the nation’s first ever president and leader of the newly established Second Republic.


That he was the nephew of Napoléon I — France’s Corsican emperor — should have been the main clue he wouldn’t simply quit the job. The second being that, in 1836, he had tried to win over the Strasbourg garrison to support a coup for a shot at restoring his family dynasty to Make France Great Again — to turn a phrase. He was arrested and, like a good Bonaparte, exiled — this time by the Swiss — to Britain, taking a detour through the United States and Brazil before returning to Europe in 1837.


Not to be outdone by himself, in December 1840, L.N. decided to engage in — you guessed it — yet another coup, sailing the Channel aboard the Edinburgh-Castle to Boulogne-sur-Mer with sixty men and weapons. The plot quickly unraveled when customs agents intercepted them and the soldiers refused to join. Surrounded, one conspirator was killed, and the rest arrested. Ridiculed by the press, young Napoleon was sentenced to a very temporary life imprisonment in the fortress of Ham. At least he was back in France.


Fast forward, and it was on December 2, 1851, that Badinguet, now president, orchestrated his magnum opus; a final coup d’état, ordering soldiers to physically bar opposition lawmakers from entering the National Assembly in Paris. With dissenting voices locked out, his loyalists convened alone, rubber-stamping measures that dissolved the legislature and granted him sweeping powers. By the time resistance could organize, it was too late, the damage was done, his grip on France was secured, and, within a year, he crowned himself emperor.


Persistence is key. I guess this is what they mean by “manifesting.”


Sounds ridiculous when you say it out loud; and yet a curious pattern emerges: from Strasbourg militia to the National Assembly, or from the Beer Hall Putsch to the Enabling Act of 1933, the path from Brownshirt to Politician, thug to decorum, is often the same. Though methods evolve, the tactics of overthrowing democracy remain strikingly consistent — evident in America today, where the playbook feels all too familiar, from the violent uprising against the election certification of January 6, 2021, to the cascading aftermath still unfolding.



Path to four more years, forever


"Ambitious politician; pleonasm."

— Jacques Mailhot, La Politique d’en Rire, 1986.



In much the same way that Louis-Napoléon exploited the weaknesses in France’s political system, the 47th president of the United States, after losing a bet on Jan-6 rioters, may find an avenue to consolidate power through legal manipulation and institutional control instead. Indeed it seems our commander-in-chief — and friend of the show — Donald Trump, might be warming up to the idea of extending his office beyond another term [1]. If not prematurely ousted by Vance, Musk, or a mob of his own cultists [more here], a few strategic tweaks could make his dream of becoming a 'day-one dictator' a reality.


To be fair, one need not dig as far back as 19th‑Century France to find leaders leveraging loopholes to elasticize their reach — especially when non‑consecutive terms come into play. A prime example is Vladimir Putin, who sidestepped term limits in 2008 by briefly stepping down as president in favor of his loyal prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev. While the latter held office, the former maintained power as prime minister before returning to the presidency in 2012 — never truly relinquishing control, just reshuffling titles. After rewriting election laws in 2020, Putin is now positioned to hold the Kremlin until 2036, with no clear sign of ever stepping down. [2]


Rather than directly mimicking Putin’s strategy, Trump’s approach might blend Napoleonic audacity with Putin-style propaganda, offering a hybrid of legal jiu-jitsu and political showmanship.


His trajectory to totalitarianism likely starts with the Supreme Court’s July 2024 absolute immunity ruling [3]. These broad protections, conveniently framed as part of a president’s official duties, suggest that even the most subversive actions — no matter how damaging to democracy — would be shielded from prosecution, effectively lifting the legal deterrent against crimes, including those against humanity. In this contrived model, murder remains illegal — but no longer punishable.


Weird, I know.


Indeed, with his attorneys having already floated a “qualified yes” on whether such powers could be used to execute a political rival with SEAL Team 6 [4] — a fantasy their client, eager to indulge his salivating fascination with totalitarians, seems all too willing to entertain — the unsettling question arises: could this ruling extend to 'offing' half of the legislature?


Provocative WAADL hyperbole?


Perhaps. But the fact that this was ultimately argued in court — with the same attorney, now solicitor general, having stood before the SCOTUS and stating that the president's office should "generally respect circuit precedent, but not necessarily in every case" [5] — reveals an undeniably alarming willingness to ignore the law in pursuit of totalitarian motives. [Edited May16, 2025] Even if murdering political opponents without punitive ramifications were deemed an excessively semantic interpretation of the law, a more mundane approach — such as procedural maneuvers to sideline Congress along with padlocks and one set of keys — could provide a more practical path to dismantle democracy in favor of the Executive.


In the spirit of Louis-Napoléon, Trump could use absolute immunity to castrate constitutional articles that inconvenience him — most likely starting with the 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms. Ratified in 1951 to prevent another extended presidency like FDR’s, its elimination would remove the last legal obstacle to Trump’s indefinite rule. Having already mused about terminating the holy document [6], the U.S. Constitution wouldn’t be spared his wrath, as long as this radical takeover abided by a checklist of very improbable conditions:

 

  • A MAGA-controlled House and Senate willing to unquestionably bow to his wishes. [7]

  • A Republican-majority Supreme Court to rubber-stamp any legal appeals. [8]

  • Physical control over legislative chambers to block opposition—if needed, by force. [9]


In an extreme but bloodless scenario, as an act of presidential duty, Trump could lock out Democrats and other opposition lawmakers from the building, allowing a unanimously MAGA legislative body to proceed interrupted. With 218 Republicans in the House and 217 adversaries absent [10], laws could pass unopposed as long as no one demanded a quorum check — a motion unlikely to be raised by MAGA sycophants. The move would feel, and perhaps even be, illegal, but shielded by an absolutely immune leader, its co-conspirators would have no incentive to reverse their own insurrection. The bill would sail through a Senate afflicted by the same fate before reaching the Resolute Desk.


In a tragic twist on the pen being mightier than the sword, a Sharpie — of all weapons — would deliver the final blow to democracy.


The only real obstacle? Physical enforcement. Unless Trump could fully purge military leadership and replace it with loyalists, maintaining control over Congress by force would be an uphill battle — one that, despite his efforts and immunities [11], may prove too difficult to climb, even for him.



The Propaganda


Another complication is the messaging. Trump’s justification for extending his presidency would likely be framed around something just as outrageous. Bluff or not, given his tendency to make annexation threats toward allies like Canada [more here], he might even rationalize an overstepped mandate with the idea of a war— perhaps invoking Ukraine as a precedent.


During its ongoing conflict, Ukrainian martial law allowed President Zelenskyy to extend his term [more here]. Trump could exploit this, arguing that if Ukraine can prolong its presidency during war, why couldn’t he?


Despite misguided beliefs from both sides of the aisle, moratoria on elections don't automatically make a system dictatorial. If that were the case, Putin wouldn’t be considered a dictator. However, following global backlash for labeling Ukraine's leader as autocratic, Trump might employ whataboutism to reverse the narrative, contending that if his counterpart isn’t judged by the free world as such, then the same assessment should apply to him.


Furthermore, by quoting Napoleonic proclamations like "He who saves his Country does not violate any Law" [12] on social media, Trump taps into a growing authoritarian rhetoric built on a foundation of revolutionary fervor. Whether serious or not, the message serves as double-edged propaganda — offering his apologists an excuse to dismiss his undiplomatic blunders as mere trolling while signaling to his more ardent supporters his militaristic ambition to level democracy. While he may fancy himself France's most famous dwarf, at 5’6", his distorted historical references would be more fitting if he sought inspiration from Napoléon’s nephew instead.


Truly, his self-styled image as a historically literate intellectual and military “stable genius” may seem absurd to anyone with a modicum of self-awareness, but it resonates with a disengaged public. For those who shy away from politics out of discomfort, his carefully curated strongman persona — on full display during his March 3rd Remarks to Congress [13] — serves its purpose, coaxing the taboo-timid into mistaking bluster for strength without scrutinizing his lies [14]. By invoking the legacy of a famed French ruler, he seeks to elevate himself beyond the brash businessman best known for saying, “You’re fired.”


For all his posturing as a strategic mastermind, however, his treatment of Zelenskyy on February 28, 2025, exposed the gap between image and reality. Despite his loud denunciations of Zelenskyy as a dictator [15], his abominable Oval Office dress-down of the Ukrainian president laid bare his clumsy attitude and cruel style. Falling short even of Napoléon III, he instead resembled a pudding-headed African warlord in Cartier glasses, bending to Putin’s will like a Sahelian spiritual leader. Yet, while these flaws expose his compromised relationship with Russia, reels of him and Vance berating an American ally on live TV are the perfect soundbite — fueling the propagandistic WWE bravado that his fawning fundamentalists crave more than bread.


"All great world-historical facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce."

— Karl Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, 1852. A jab at Philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) and the WAADL mantra.



The Mirror


Through immunity, criminal exploitation, and rhetorical misdirection, Trump has a plausible path to extending his presidency. Whether this nightmare unfolds depends on institutional resistance and public opposition. The ingredients for authoritarian rule are present — but will the American system mix them in the right proportions?


Could the Constitution be the red carpet Trump tramples on his strut into the dictatorship he long fantasized about in the mirror? Badinguet had three January 6s under his belt — best not color ourselves surprised if history rhymes once more.


One thing is certain, the inaugural branding of 2025 as a "Golden Age for America" [16] — an overt callback to the Gilded Age in which Trump's Palm Beach ego resides — holds a profound irony. He performed an emulation of Napoléon, albeit arguably the wrong one, despite the true Gilded Age beginning only after the permanent Prussian defeat of the Bonaparte lineage on January 28, 1871. Now, were Trump absolutely committed to citing Napoléon I adages, he would be sage to study his greatest regret:


"In the position I am in, I find nobility only in the rabble I have neglected, and rabble only in the nobility I have created." [17]

— Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821), 1814.



So, drawing from Trump's wisdom, perhaps only in his downfall will we truly rediscover the lost beauty of that mythical era — but must we endure 19 years of dictatorship to get there?



*Badinguet: A nickname given to Napoléon III. It was the name of the workman whose clothes he wore when he contrived to escape from the fort of Ham, in 1846. [source: napoleon.org]


[1] Trump Expressing wanting to have third term, or more


[2] Service, R.R. (2021) Putin signs constitutional changes that allow him to rule until 2036, RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Available at: https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-signs-law-to-rule-until-2036/31187934.html (Accessed: 11 March 2025).


[3]"Absolute Immunity" SCOTUS ruling:

TRUMP v. THE UNITED STATES | CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT  (July 1, 2024) chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf.

"The Court thus concludes that the President is absolutely immune from criminal prosecution for conduct within his exclusive sphere of constitutional authority. Pp. 6–9." Syllabus P.2.

Totenberg, N. (2024) Supreme Court says Trump has absolute immunity for core acts only, NPR. Available at: https://www.npr.org/2024/07/01/nx-s1-5002157/supreme-court-trump-immunity (Accessed: 2024).


[4] DC Circuit Court of Appeals oral argument U.S. v. Trump 1/10/24 Transcript (2024) Rev.com. Available at: https://www.rev.com/transcripts/dc-circuit-court-of-appeals-oral-argument-u-s-v-trump-1-10-24-transcript (Accessed: 28 February 2025).

"Speaker 1 (07:35): Could a president order SEAL Team Six to assassinate a political rival? That’s an official act in order to SEAL Team Six. Mr. Sauer (07:43): He would have to be and would speedily be impeached and convicted before the criminal prosecution. Speaker 1 (07:49): But if weren’t, there would be no criminal prosecution, no criminal liability for that? Mr. Sauer (07:54): Chief Justice’s opinion in Marbury against Madison, and our Constitutional convention, and the plain language of the impeachment judgment clause all clearly presuppose that what the founders were concerned about was not- Speaker 1 (08:06): I asked you a yes or no question, could a president who ordered SEAL Team Six to assassinate a political rival, who was not impeached, would he be subject to criminal prosecution? Mr. Sauer (08:19): If he were impeached and convicted first? Speaker 1 (08:21): So your answer is no. Mr. Sauer (08:24): My answer is qualified yes. There’s a political process that have to occur under the structure of our constitution, which would require impeachment and conviction by the Senate. In these exceptional cases, as the OLC memo itself points out from the Department of Justice, you’d expect a speedy impeachment and conviction. But what the founders are much more worried about than using criminal prosecution to discipline presidents was what James Madison calls in Federalist number 47, the newfangled and artificial treasons. They were much more concerned about the abuse of the criminal process for political purposes to disable the presidency from factions and political opponents. Of course, that’s exactly what we see in this case."


[5] Crawley, J. (2025) ‘Trump Lawyer Dean John Sauer Confirmed as US Solicitor General’, Bloomberg Law, 3 April. Available at: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/social-justice/trump-lawyer-john-sauer-confirmed-as-us-solicitor-general (Accessed: 16 May 2025).


[6] Trump calling for the TREMINATION of the U.S. Constitution:

“Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution”

— Donald Trump, Truth Social, December 3, 2022


[7] 119th United states Congress (2025) Ballotpedia. Available at: https://ballotpedia.org/119th_United_States_Congress (Accessed: 06 March 2025).


[8] Supreme Court of the United States (2025) Ballotpedia. Available at: https://ballotpedia.org/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States (Accessed: 06 March 2025).

Gonzalez, O. and Alberti, D. (2023) Supreme Court political leanings: Justices by ideology, The political leanings of the Supreme Court justices. Available at: https://www.axios.com/2019/06/01/supreme-court-justices-ideology (Accessed: 06 March 2025).


[9] Loyalism in high places:


[10] Wikipedia contributors, 2025. 119th United States Congress. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/119th_United_States_Congress?utm_source=chatgpt.com (Accessed 10 March 2025).


[11] Losey, S. and Sullivan, B. (2025) Trump Fires Joint Chiefs chairman, Navy head in DOD leadership purge, Military Times. Available at: https://www.militarytimes.com/pentagon/2025/02/22/trump-fires-joint-chiefs-chairman-navy-head-in-dod-leadership-purge/ (Accessed: 06 March 2025).


[12] Quoting Napoleon:


[13] Press, T.A. (2025) Transcript of president Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress, AP News. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/trump-speech-congress-transcript-751b5891a3265ff1e5c1409c391fef7c (Accessed: 06 March 2025).


[14] Staff, N. (2025) Follow NPR’s annotated fact check of president Trump’s address to Congress, NPR. Available at: https://www.npr.org/2025/03/04/g-s1-50488/trump-congress-joint-address-fact-check (Accessed: 06 March 2025).


[15] Dictator:


[16] Leary, A. (2025) Trump proclaims ’The golden age of america begins right ..., WSJ.com. Available at: https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-to-call-for-revolution-of-common-sense-in-inaugural-address-a6d94c59 (Accessed: 06 March 2025).


[17] Original French; « Dans la position où je suis, je ne trouve de noblesse que dans la canaille que j’ai négligée, et de canaille que dans la noblesse que j’ai faite. » Napoléon Ier, 1814; Napoléon (1921), Élie Faure.

All audio is AI generated.

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