In the past 24 hours, three major events have taken place in America that, astonishingly, many are brushing aside. Each on its own would be troubling. Together, they reveal an accelerating pattern of authoritarian behavior from the White House.
The first we learned minutes ago. According to the Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump posted a private DM from himself to Pam Bondi, the Attorney General of the United States. We knew this likely happened back in September, but now we received confirmation.
The second involves a senior White House official, on live television, invoking the phrase “plenary authority” before abruptly freezing, hinting at limitless presidential power to deploy the military inside the United States. The third is a sitting president demanding that a governor and a mayor be jailed for opposing him. The fourth is that same president calling for a U.S. senator to be silenced and investigated for criticizing him.
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1. Donald Trump Accidentally Posted Private DM to Pam Bondi
The Wall Street Journal has confirmed that the late-September Truth Social post in which Donald Trump publicly ordered Pam Bondi to prosecute James Comey, his political rival,was never meant to be public. According to the Journal, the message was intended as a private direct message, not a post. Trump was reportedly startled to discover it had gone live, and Bondi was furious that it appeared publicly, prompting Trump to issue a hasty follow-up praising her work to cover the blunder.
What’s most alarming isn’t just that the President accidentally posted a private directive, it’s that senior officials appear to be communicating with him through Truth Social, a notoriously insecure social platform. If cabinet members are exchanging sensitive or official messages there, it raises serious questions about the administration’s handling of classified information and digital security at the highest level of government.
2. Stephen Miller’s “Glitch” and the Language of Unlimited Power
First, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller appeared on CNN to defend President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities, including Portland and Chicago, over the objections of state officials.
When asked whether the administration would comply with a judge’s order blocking troop deployment in Oregon, Miller said the White House had appealed and then declared, “Under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, the President has plenary authority, has,” before abruptly freezing mid-sentence. The screen cut out.
CNN’s anchor Boris Sanchez apologized, citing a “technical issue.” When the feed resumed, the conversation had shifted away from Miller’s statement.
But the internet noticed. Within hours, “plenary authority” was trending on social media, with many speculating that Miller had accidentally revealed more than he intended. The term, defined by Cornell Law as “broadly construed and practically limitless power,” carries dangerous implications, especially in the context of a president who has already hinted at invoking the Insurrection Act to use the U.S. military domestically.
Whether Miller froze because of a glitch or a guilty conscience, the message was clear. This White House is testing how far it can stretch executive power inside the country’s own borders.
3. Trump Calls for the Arrest of Illinois Leaders
Just one day later, President Trump took to Truth Social to call for the imprisonment of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, claiming they had “failed to protect ICE officers.”
The outburst came as federalized National Guard troops arrived in Illinois, an unprecedented move opposed by both state and local officials. Trump’s rhetoric escalated beyond political dispute into outright threats, writing that both men “should be in jail.”
Governor Pritzker responded forcefully, accusing Trump of “calling for the arrest of elected representatives checking his power.” He warned that this is what the path to “full-blown authoritarianism” looks like. Mayor Johnson added pointedly, “This is not the first time Trump has tried to have a Black man unjustly arrested.”
It is worth remembering that the use of the U.S. military against domestic leaders is forbidden under most interpretations of the Constitution and the Posse Comitatus Act. But Trump’s team, as Miller’s comments suggest, appears to believe the president’s “plenary authority” can override that.
4. Trump’s Push to Silence Senator Richard Blumenthal
Finally, Trump again targeted a political opponent, this time Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, demanding that he be “silenced and investigated” over decades-old questions about his military record.
In a Truth Social post, Trump derided Blumenthal as “Da Nang Dick,” reviving a scandal from 2010 when the senator apologized for misrepresenting his service “in” Vietnam instead of “during” it. Trump claimed Blumenthal was a “fraud” who “should be allowed to speak no longer,” an extraordinary statement from a sitting president calling to suppress the voice of an elected U.S. senator.
5. The War on Speech and Protest
Trump’s latest comments go beyond authoritarian rhetoric—they strike at the heart of the First Amendment.
At a White House roundtable, Trump said flatly that his administration “took the freedom of speech away” when addressing flag burning. He then doubled down, promising, “I’d love to do something about that,” when told of a planned protest in Austin.
Moments later, activist Nick Sortor told Trump she had seized a burning flag from a protester. Trump asked, “Do you know who he is?” and when Sortor said yes, he replied, “So why don’t you give it to Pam. Give it to the attorney general and we’ll start prosecutions.”
Each of these stories might seem like just another episode in the chaotic Trump news cycle. But taken together, they form a clear pattern, one that should alarm anyone who believes in constitutional government.
These are not the actions of a leader committed to democracy or the rule of law. They are the actions of a man inching closer to unrestrained, autocratic power, and of an administration increasingly comfortable saying the quiet part out loud.
For years, critics have warned that Trump’s second term would bring an open embrace of authoritarianism. In just one day, we have seen evidence of that prophecy unfolding in real time.