Jonathan P. Baird lives in Wilmot.

The first month of the second Trump presidency has featured the much-discussed “flood the zone” strategy. Conducted at a breakneck pace, the multi-pronged campaign has been an effort to overwhelm the public to make resistance seem futile. Courts cannot keep up with the onslaught of events. No one can.

Trump’s plan is to discourage opposition by making it seem like people’s movements and courts cannot stop an irresistible tide that is moving very quickly on many fronts. I believe the plan was in place before Trump took the oath of office. It is Project 2025 jet-propelled by the Musk squad.

Trump’s social media tweeted out a line from Napoleon Bonaparte: “He who saves the country does not violate any law.” This was the Napoleon who declared himself Emperor of France in 1804. At almost the same time, the White House social media also sent out a picture of Trump wearing a crown. On his social media, Truth Social, it was proclaimed “Long live the King.”

Whether this was supposed to be a joke owning the libs, I don’t think the deeper strategy behind Trump’s actions are being appreciated. I will offer a big picture perspective on how I see Trump’s end-game: He does not want to leave the presidency during his lifetime. This is his most lucrative scam yet. He wants to be a dictator or a king ruling over the serfs whose role is to praise him.

Relying on an extreme version of the unitary executive theory giving the president absolute power, Trump seeks to turn back the clock to a gilded age before the New Deal. In that era, great imperialist powers carved up the globe as they colonized the Third World. Trump wants a return to the heyday of U.S. imperialism where might made right. Emulating Putin, he wants to maximize his personal fortune so he can be a legitimate billionaire instead of a fake one. He doesn’t want to have to worry about going to jail, ever.

The billionaire posse around him at the inauguration was a tipoff. They plan to serve each others’ interests to ensure they receive their precious tax cut. Could someone explain why tax cheats like Trump and his billionaires deserve a further tax cut? So many of them have never paid their fair share of taxes in the first place. What a staggering display of greed! No doubt they will throw a few crumbs at the masses. They will pretend they are “pro-worker” as long as it doesn’t interfere with their raking in billions.

So far, Trump has, in effect, outsourced his presidency to Elon Musk. He doesn’t appear to be that interested in the job of president. While he plays golf — 10 outings in 33 days — he leaves the dirty work to Musk, who is allegedly fighting corruption in the Deep State. The idea that a convicted felon like Trump who has an extensive record of cheating his contractors cares about fighting corruption is laughable. One of his first acts was firing Inspector Generals.

Musk’s main role has been to fire federal employees, particularly probationary ones. This is part of deconstructing the administrative state. The firings have been done in the most callous disrespectful way imaginable. Federal workers receive anonymous, cowardly emails that often accuse them of poor job performance, even though there is no record of poor job performance. Often the workers have had excellent performance records. The firings are in contravention of federal law and without any good cause.

In bullying fashion, Trump and Musk apparently believe they can bulldoze federal statutes and regulations that have mandated job protections. The arrogant way Trump treated Gov. Janet Mills of Maine showed how full of himself he is. He believes he is the law.

Federal programs are intricate and complex, and they take time to learn and understand. The idea that Musk’s twenty-somethings will blow in and discover major fraud is an illusion. Musk is playing a smoke and mirrors game. There is fraud and waste in the government, but these kids are not going to find it in 15 minutes. The chance that they understand anything about the programs they are savaging is next to nil. Here, the truth matters not at all. The image is everything, which is why you have Musk on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference with a chainsaw.

Musk’s entire Department of Government Efficiency enterprise is lawless from top to bottom. DOGE is not authorized by Congress. Its authority rests on the thin reed of an executive order. Trump says DOGE is an extension of his limitless Article II power under the Constitution, but no court has yet given Trump the type of Article II power he craves.

The United States was created in opposition to a monarchy. Separation of powers and the three branches of government were created so the U.S. would never degenerate into a monarchy. There could not be a more shaky legal ground than rule by non-stop issuance of executive orders. Trump is hollowing out the legislative and judicial branches so all power rests with him.

DOGE has zero transparency. We don’t know who they are or what they are doing, but like good serfs, we are supposed to shut up and let them do whatever. We are supposed to ignore Musk’s obvious conflicts of interest. If Trump’s maximalist program is like those of Russian President Vladimir Putin or of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, very bad trends of worsening income inequality, lower life expectancy and shrinking of democracy are likely to follow.

The racism and sexism of the Trump presidency must also be called out. The obsession with DEI is a fig leaf: They are trying to roll back all civil rights gains made since the 1960s. Renaming military bases after Confederate generals is a good indication of their reactionary mindset as is the dangerous hate they have directed against LGBTQ people. Trans people are so small in numbers, and yet, they have targeted them as a group to hate on.

Prepare for a post-constitutional government with white men once again large and in charge. Expect rule by fear with civil rights stripped away and perceived political enemies prosecuted. Say good-bye to abortion rights and an end to gay marriage. Toxic masculinity will be the rule and there will be a resurgence of violence against women. No fault divorce will start disappearing, and there will be an effort to repeal women’s right to vote. Patriotic education will mean Americans will be indoctrinated into a fraudulent history that whitewashes our national sins.

Whether this is our future depends on whether the American people resist. There is still time.