September 22, 2025

Successful mobsters understand a simple truth: you can make a living from the capitulation of the weak, but you can get rich off the collaboration of the strong. Donald Trump’s second term in office has proved that, if nothing else, he would make a very good mobster.

After months of denial, it has become undeniable that Donald Trump is weaponizing the government to attack his political opponents, silence his critics, and neutralize large institutions that might challenge him. Yet those of us who warned of this back in January and were dismissed as alarmists are still being told to quiet down.

When we point to the damage already done, we are told it is all fixable. When we explain that Trump has decimated swaths of the federal government, we are told the civil service is resilient and strong. When we express concern that Trump has deployed the military in American cities, we are told it is popular and effective at fighting crime. When we sound the alarm that he has turned the Department of Justice into his personal legal arsenal, we are told that he is simply shaking things up by disregarding customs and norms.

In recent weeks, more institutions have been forced to acknowledge that something is amiss. Yet even now...