US Checks and Balances Curbed Trump Despite Authoritarian Concerns: Analyst

Spread love

By TRH World Desk

Speaking with Ian Bremmer on GZERO, Bill Maher said Congress, the courts and even some Republicans have acted as checks on President Donald Trump, though he remains concerned about Trump’s governing style.

New Delhi, July 3, 2026 — Political commentator and comedian Bill Maher said he has become somewhat less worried about the United States descending into authoritarianism under President Donald Trump, arguing that the country’s institutional checks and balances have proved more resilient than he initially feared.

Speaking with political scientist Ian Bremmer on GZERO, Maher said his views have evolved based on developments during Trump’s second term.

“I live in the present,” Maher said, adding: “I see things that happen and then I change my views according to what’s going on now.”

Maher recalled that he had long warned about what he described as a “slow-moving coup,” noting that he had predicted Trump would refuse to concede the 2020 presidential election. He said Trump continues to question the outcome of that election, calling it “a terrible thing.”

However, Maher argued that several institutions have successfully constrained the president’s agenda. “I’ve also seen him stopped in many ways,” he said, while adding that he remains “alarmed” by many of Trump’s actions.

Citing a New York Times report on the administration’s proposed budget cuts, Maher said many of the reductions Trump sought were never implemented. “Almost none of them came about,” he said, noting that several federal departments ultimately received funding levels similar to, or even higher than, previous budgets.

Maher also pointed to legal and judicial setbacks faced by the administration, saying the Supreme Court and lower federal courts had blocked or limited several of Trump’s initiatives, including tariff-related measures and immigration policies.

“These are real checks and balances,” Maher said, adding that Congress had also quietly exercised oversight despite public perceptions that it largely supports the president.

Discussing Trump’s leadership style, Maher said the president often behaves as though he prefers dealing directly with world leaders rather than working through democratic institutions.

“He acts like it’s the 18th century and it’s just him and other leaders,” Maher remarked, while saying Congress appears to be “a nuisance” in Trump’s view. Even so, Maher argued that the president has not always received unconditional backing from his own party.

He cited recent instances where Republican lawmakers resisted elements of Trump’s agenda and recalled that after the 2020 election, several prominent Republicans—including former Attorney General Bill Barr, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, former Representative Liz Cheney, former Senator Mitt Romney, and former Representative Adam Kinzinger—refused to support Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results.

“These are serious people,” Maher said, adding that they drew a line when it came to accepting the outcome of the election.

Looking ahead, Maher said he believes Trump will ultimately serve as a “lame duck” president. Although Trump has occasionally suggested there could be ways to seek another term, Maher expressed scepticism that such efforts would succeed.

“Am I worried? Yes,” Maher said, adding: “But he’s going to be a lame duck president.”