Lost in the noise of the past few weeks, not many people noticed that Trump took some unprecedented steps to nullify the one branch of government he doesn't completely control - the judiciary (he's already cowed the legislative into submission with threats of being "primaried", and also his base have made PHYSICAL threats against the families of any Republican lawmakers who dare to repudiate him).
Firstly, he fired any Justice Department prosecutors who participated in investigations against him, and removed the security clearances of any former intelligence officials who have criticized him publicly, including former President Biden.
He signed an Executive Order removing the security clearances of and banning from federal buildings any lawyer that was found to have assisted in impeachment investigations against him. Even those acting pro bono.
He signed an Executive Order banning not-for-profit workers from a federal loan forgiveness scheme if they were deemed to have engaged in "improper" activities. This includes any not-for-profit agencies that challenge his policies in court.
He then signed an Executive Order requiring any plaintiff wishing to challenge the legality of Trump's actions in court to provide, up front, a bond covering the totality of the Government's legal costs, to be forfeited in full if the case fails.
These are all clearly designed to deter anyone from using the courts to restrain him, and they will almost certainly work.
Almost no-one will have the money available to provide the necessary bond to even get their day in court, and even if they did ... how many lawyers would want to take that job and be blacklisted?
It should be noted that this is exactly how Putin took control of Russia. Make resistance too costly. Intimidate the public into apathy.
History always repeats. If an election even happens in 2028 (don't count on it - hes always got the option of declaring martial law in response to a fake "emergy"), expect opposition candidates to be thrown in jail. Or poisoned with Polonium.
