PARIS—“We are rapidly approaching the moment when we should stop referring to the American government and start referring to the Trump regime.” That single sentence resonates far and wide.
Propelled by the first shock wave after the announced resignation of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, it was liked and retweeted thousands of times, with hundreds and hundreds of replies. Most of them were of the “sad but true” and “we’re long past that” variety. One French friend reminded me that “regime” is the word Americans use to describe a foreign government they are about to overthrow. That’s something to think about.
In any case, since I wrote that line I should probably explain a bit more about what I meant. In fact, as of this moment, we still have a system of government that might save us from the increasingly dangerous trends of the Trump era. But the moment is fast approaching when that will no longer be possible. - Christopher Dickey