I don’t like it, but much of this is what Donald Trump was elected to do. My column today in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Bruce Ledewitz: Self-government looks like Donald Trump as president

Special to the Post-Gazette

Feb 9, 2026

I am sometimes asked why I am not more upset about the outrageous conduct of President Donald Trump. Partly it’s a personal choice. I promised myself that this time I would not allow Trump to occupy my consciousness.

But it’s also principle. The American people chose most of the policies that Trump is pursuing. Trump ran an unusually clear campaign. He promised mass deportations, tariffs and tax cuts. He made clear his hostility to clean energy, our allies and the federal bureaucracy. He was plainly going to pardon everybody who participated in the riot on Jan. 6, 2021. He was already in bed with the anti-vaccine crowd.

The 2024 election was no quirk of the Electoral College. As we measure these things, the people not only chose him, they gave him a Republican Congress to help him.

Granted, it was no landslide, but it was as decisive as elections usually are. So, like it or not, the 2024 election was American self-government in action.

Trump gives the people what they want

We often act like the purpose of politics is to win. It’s nice when that happens. But the fundamental purpose of politics in a constitutional democracy is that the people get the policies they want. If we are in a minority, the majority rules. That’s what happened to me in the 2024 election.

Certainly the people’s choices have to remain within constitutional bounds. But, in the main, Trump’s policies are constitutional. 

I think it’s a mistake to reduce immigration to a trickle, cut research funding, reduce trade, trash our international alliances, increase the national debt, block solar and wind power, and all the rest. I am certain Trump is undermining future American prosperity and empowering China. I am equally certain that eliminating vaccine mandates will lead to more American deaths, including children.

But I can’t pretend that our elected government can’t choose these policies. These decisions are all just a matter of ordinary politics. If I cannot convince my fellow Americans that these are bad choices, they have the right to choose the candidates who will enact the policies they want.

People have this right because self-government is a right. It is as much a right as free speech or religion or any other right. The right of self-government is the first right that Americans fought for in 1776. 

The principle of self-government is America’s most precious gift to the world. It is Abraham Lincoln’s “government by the people.” I still believe in it.

The public forces Trump to retreat

There are unlawful aspects to some of the actions of the Trump administration. But they are gradually being dealt with by public opinion and the courts. Public opinion is forcing Trump to retreat on the most aggressive tactics of immigration enforcement. 

The Supreme Court seems poised to protect the independence of the Federal Reserve, retain birthright citizenship and perhaps limit Trump’s tariffs. Contrary to predictions, the Trump administration is not openly defying the courts. The administration just drags its feet when a court orders it to do something Trump does not want to do.

Contrast American self-government with how Germany is proceeding with its right-wing political movement. In local elections a few months ago in the former East Germany, the AfD, a far-right party that some call neo-Nazi, won about one-third of the vote — a strong plurality.

Normally in Germany that would mean a coalition government in which the AfD participated, if not dominated. Instead of that normal outcome, Germany’s traditional political parties erected a “firewall” by forming coalitions of opposing parties to freeze out the AfD.

This is exactly what many people wish American politicians had done to prevent Trump from coming to power in 2016. They wish the Republican leadership had closed ranks against Trump. When Trump obtained the nomination, they wanted Republicans to endorse Hillary Clinton for President.

But that strategy would not have worked for long in America and it will not work in Germany. If the people want what the policies that Trump, or the AfD, are offering, they will eventually get them.

The advantage of the American approach that allowed Trump to triumph is that the people get their wished-for-results right away. The people tried Trump once in 2016 and then kicked him out in 2020, although Trump still refuses to admit it. But then the people were not satisfied with Joe Biden and the Democrats and they brought Trump back in 2024.

The Democrats can change things

Now, it appears that the people are already rejecting at least some of what Trump is doing. If Democrats can at last get their act together and promise a solution to the problem that ordinary people can’t reach a middle-class life, they will be swept back into power. If they can deliver on that promise, they will remain in power.

All this is self-government.

Democrats talk about Trump’s fascism. But there is no fascism as long as we continue to have elections. If Trump cancels the 2026 mid-term elections or runs for a third term, then you can hand me a gun. Unless that happens, it’s politics as usual. Fortunately. And that is not something to get upset about.

Bruce Ledewitz, a contributing writer for the Post-Gazette, is professor of law emeritus at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University. He writes every other Monday. The views expressed do not represent those of Duquesne University. His previous article was “The right and the wrong ways to protest ICE.”

First Published: February 9, 2026, 4:30 a.m.