In his drive to consolidate power and create a public spectacle, Trump has established a more dangerous version of the imperial presidency, which goes beyond the actions of any of his modern predecessors who sought to expand presidential authority. By plunging the US into an open-ended war against Iran, Trump has reached the zenith of his imperial ambitions. This war is the culmination of Trump’s lawlessness since he returned to office: he deployed troops into American cities, gutted federal agencies, ordered the US military to attack civilian boats in the Caribbean sea, and used law enforcement to punish his political enemies – all with little resistance from Congress or the supreme court.