Make America Great Alone
The Supreme Court of the United States (Scotus), voting 6-3, declared unconstitutional and smashed US President Donald Trump’s tariff terrorism that upset the global order and the rule of law. Scotus Chief Justice John Roberts—a conservative jurist, joined by two other conservatives, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, and the three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—ruled that the US Constitution “did not vest any part of the taxing power to the Executive Branch.”
A DEFIANT TRUMP TYPICALLY USED PERSONAL AND GUTTER VERBIAGE (in contrast to the polite but firm language of CJ Roberts) in his instant counterattack, uttering that he was “ashamed, absolutely ashamed, of certain members of the Court, for not having the courage to do what is right for the country.” With due respect, I believe that, quite the contrary, these six justices, especially the three conservatives, had the courage and grit to defy the temperamental US President and to restore confidence in the rule of law.
The rule of law is a foundational principle of democratic governance, which ensures that no individual—not even the country’s chief executive—is above the law. It encompasses equality before the law, accountability through checks and balances, adherence to due process, and respect for judicial independence and international commitments.
However, Trump has repeatedly trumped these ideals. He sidelines legal and institutional constraints and undermines democratic processes and international commitments.
The ongoing immigration crackdown and deportations defy court orders and judicial halts. Recent news reports indicate that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is detaining over 60,000 individuals, the majority of whom have no criminal convictions. This is expected to worsen, as a new memo issued last week rescinds a prior policy that did not consider failure to apply for a green card within a year as grounds for detention and deportation.
The judicial pushback underscores the tension. While courts uphold the law, Trump’s persistent defiance erodes public trust in institutions and causes security risks even to law-abiding citizens.
THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF A LEADER IS A DANGER IN AND OF ITSELF. The impulsive decisions of such a leader create an environment of uncertainty, making it extremely difficult for businesses, investors, institutions, and governments to plan ahead and to adapt.
Trump’s zigzagging policy reversals on environmental rollbacks, energy deregulation, and trade measures have disrupted supply chains, raised prices, and invited retaliation. Tariffs have been imposed, reversed, reimposed, expanded, narrowed, and threatened in a dizzying cycle that has made the phrase “trade policy” functionally meaningless. His “tantrums” resonate globally and confuse both friends and foes.
Predictability is essential for leadership. It builds trust, enables planning, and reduces conflict. Without it, credibility is gravely impaired. Supporters praise this as a decisive disruption, yet a closer look shows a deep erosion of the rule of law, economic uncertainty, and US isolation.
INDEED, LIBERTY, PROSPERITY, AND THE RULE OF LAW ARE THREATENED simultaneously, not as an unintended consequence, but as the predictable results of elevating executive caprice and unchecked strategies above institutional restraint. The incessant attacks on international organizations, including the United Nations and some of its humanitarian agencies, undermine rules-based norms as well as territorial integrity and resource protection.
Early this year, US forces captured the Venezuelan President. Currently, in the Middle East, a massive US military buildup openly poses potential strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. These interventions subvert accepted sovereignty principles and signal a retreat from multilateralism.
They weaken the integrity of international law that smaller states depend on. For the Philippines, these interventions threaten enforcement in the West Philippine Sea, where predictable alliances and international law provide essential leverage against larger powers.
Trump has proven that, after all, he is not promoting “Make America Great Again” but “Make America Great Alone.” In so doing, he has surrendered the leverage that comes from being the indispensable hub of global commerce. Trump’s transactional approach to trade and governance risks undermining the global economic order.
When the US abruptly withdraws from treaties, mocks international organizations, and treats allies as adversaries, it does not merely weaken those institutions. It tells every authoritarian on earth that the language of rules was always a fiction—and that raw power is the only currency that matters.
What is at stake is the infrastructure of democracy itself—the rules, norms, institutions, and commitments that make disagreements possible without descending into chaos or tyranny.
When a president abandons those commitments, it falls to the rest of humankind—the lawmakers, the courts, the media, and above all, the citizens—to defend them and to restore the foundations of justice to their proper order.
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