The Trump Administration Has Perfected the Performance of Legality
Equal justice apparently isn't equal anymore.
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March 10, 2026
The Trump Administration Has Perfected the Performance of Legality
This administration understands that pantomiming rule-following allows it to pursue its ultimate objective of justifying whatever intervention it may deem necessary.
Maha Hilal
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President Donald Trump, alongside deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, speaks to the press following US military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 3, 2026.
(Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images)
This article originally appeared at . To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from .
In response to his sentencing following his conviction on 34 felonies in May 2024, President Trump stated that he had “won the election in a massive landslide, and the people of this country understand what’s gone on. This has been a weaponization of government.”
Despite his conviction, Judge Juan Merchan sentenced him to an unconditional discharge with no consequences like prison, probation, or even fines. The judge determined that this was the “only lawful sentence” that avoided infringing on the authority of the presidency. Had that been Donald Trump’s first encounter with the law (which, of course, it wasn’t), it would have been a stark lesson in impunity.
It’s no surprise then that, in an interview last year with Kristen Welker on Meet the Press, when asked about his obligation to uphold the Constitution, Trump responded, “I don’t know.” In his conversation with Welker, he also defied a Supreme Court decision that ordered the return of immigrant Kilmar Armando Ábrego García from El Salvador, where he had been deported thanks to what the Trump administration termed “an administrative error.” Blaming the deferral of that decision on Attorney General Pam Bondi, the president stated that he was “not involved in the legality or illegality” of the case.
Despite his seemingly ambivalent feelings in that interview, he has emphatically asserted his position with respect to the law elsewhere, especially when it came to him. For example, on February 16, 2025, he wrote on X, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” Nonetheless, outright violations of the law have been a signature characteristic of his administration writ large. For example, last March, when Judge James Boasberg ordered the return of planes carrying migrants being deported from the United …
Equal justice apparently isn't equal anymore.
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The Trump Administration Has Perfected the Performance of Legality
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Current Issue
March 10, 2026
The Trump Administration Has Perfected the Performance of Legality
This administration understands that pantomiming rule-following allows it to pursue its ultimate objective of justifying whatever intervention it may deem necessary.
Maha Hilal
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
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President Donald Trump, alongside deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, speaks to the press following US military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 3, 2026.
(Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images)
This article originally appeared at . To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from .
In response to his sentencing following his conviction on 34 felonies in May 2024, President Trump stated that he had “won the election in a massive landslide, and the people of this country understand what’s gone on. This has been a weaponization of government.”
Despite his conviction, Judge Juan Merchan sentenced him to an unconditional discharge with no consequences like prison, probation, or even fines. The judge determined that this was the “only lawful sentence” that avoided infringing on the authority of the presidency. Had that been Donald Trump’s first encounter with the law (which, of course, it wasn’t), it would have been a stark lesson in impunity.
It’s no surprise then that, in an interview last year with Kristen Welker on Meet the Press, when asked about his obligation to uphold the Constitution, Trump responded, “I don’t know.” In his conversation with Welker, he also defied a Supreme Court decision that ordered the return of immigrant Kilmar Armando Ábrego García from El Salvador, where he had been deported thanks to what the Trump administration termed “an administrative error.” Blaming the deferral of that decision on Attorney General Pam Bondi, the president stated that he was “not involved in the legality or illegality” of the case.
Despite his seemingly ambivalent feelings in that interview, he has emphatically asserted his position with respect to the law elsewhere, especially when it came to him. For example, on February 16, 2025, he wrote on X, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” Nonetheless, outright violations of the law have been a signature characteristic of his administration writ large. For example, last March, when Judge James Boasberg ordered the return of planes carrying migrants being deported from the United …
The Trump Administration Has Perfected the Performance of Legality
Equal justice apparently isn't equal anymore.
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The Trump Administration Has Perfected the Performance of Legality
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Current Issue
March 10, 2026
The Trump Administration Has Perfected the Performance of Legality
This administration understands that pantomiming rule-following allows it to pursue its ultimate objective of justifying whatever intervention it may deem necessary.
Maha Hilal
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Edit
Ad Policy
President Donald Trump, alongside deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, speaks to the press following US military actions in Venezuela, at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 3, 2026.
(Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images)
This article originally appeared at . To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from .
In response to his sentencing following his conviction on 34 felonies in May 2024, President Trump stated that he had “won the election in a massive landslide, and the people of this country understand what’s gone on. This has been a weaponization of government.”
Despite his conviction, Judge Juan Merchan sentenced him to an unconditional discharge with no consequences like prison, probation, or even fines. The judge determined that this was the “only lawful sentence” that avoided infringing on the authority of the presidency. Had that been Donald Trump’s first encounter with the law (which, of course, it wasn’t), it would have been a stark lesson in impunity.
It’s no surprise then that, in an interview last year with Kristen Welker on Meet the Press, when asked about his obligation to uphold the Constitution, Trump responded, “I don’t know.” In his conversation with Welker, he also defied a Supreme Court decision that ordered the return of immigrant Kilmar Armando Ábrego García from El Salvador, where he had been deported thanks to what the Trump administration termed “an administrative error.” Blaming the deferral of that decision on Attorney General Pam Bondi, the president stated that he was “not involved in the legality or illegality” of the case.
Despite his seemingly ambivalent feelings in that interview, he has emphatically asserted his position with respect to the law elsewhere, especially when it came to him. For example, on February 16, 2025, he wrote on X, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” Nonetheless, outright violations of the law have been a signature characteristic of his administration writ large. For example, last March, when Judge James Boasberg ordered the return of planes carrying migrants being deported from the United …
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