this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2026
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He does something illegal on a practically daily basis and everyone just kisses his ass. Now I guess he can just continue on and conquer the whole world and kidnap world leaders. Why doesn’t anyone stand up to this asshole?

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[–] luciferofastora@feddit.org 6 points 5 days ago

He doesn't do everything he wants, but what he does do, he does because people in key positions obey him. Why they do that is the more critical question, and for many, it probably comes down to some combination of agreeing with his aims, hoping to profit from it and fear of consequences for disobedience.

For some, it's probably an attempt to do damage control: If they can stay in his good graces, they might be able to dissuade him from the worst excesses. If they refuse his orders, they'll get replaced with a yes-man that'll eagerly lick the rim for a chance to profit from the whole disaster.

For some, it's a belief that they have to obey orders, out of naivety, complacency or a misplaced sense of duty: If Congress has conferred on him the right to give orders. Whether the orders are legal or not is for the court to figure out, so until the court intervenes or Congress strips his right to give orders, the orders are legitimate and I'm obligated to cary them out.

To stand up against illegal orders takes a lot of guts, and for most people it will be a fairly simple matter of "Do I put my life and livelihood on the line? Would I even achieve anything?" The people who would have to defy him are those high up in positions of power, so as long as those people continue to convert his demented demands into orders, the rest will fall in line.