NEWS ANALYSIS

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “We are in a post constitutional moment in our country. Our constitutional institutions, understandings, and practices have all been transformed, over decades, away from the words on the paper into a new arrangement—a new regime if you will—that pays only lip service to the old Constitution.” -  Russell Vought, president, Center for Renewing America; former director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Trump administration.

Donald Trump has been sworn in twice as President of the United States; once on January 20, 2017, and again on January 20, 2025. Both times he swore a solemn oath, mandated by Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution to the best of his “…Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States". 

A solemn oath is a formal, binding, and serious affirmation that confirms truthfulness, duty, and a pledge of service. In this case, public service, not personal enrichment. It is a deeply personal commitment, frequently invoking a higher power or authority to guarantee the sincerity of the oath-taker.

To be consistent with the concept of “separation of powers”, where the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the government operate independent of each other, the framers of the constitution included the oath of office into Article II. Their intent was to force the executive to swear an allegiance to the constitution, before God and commit (solemnly swear) to the binding promise of public service to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution".

How could Donald Trump, an American president, swear an oath to defend a constitution that he and/or his closest advisors believes is no longer relevant or applicable? Was he lying when he took the oath?  It is important to remember, not only has Donald Trump sworn this oath, every member of his cabinet has also sworn a similar oath.  The contradictions are blinding and maddening. 

Some might ask, “how can you attribute the words of Russell Vought to Donald Trump?” That answer is simple.  Vought has been Trump’s director of OMB twice.   As the co-author of Project 2025, ProPublica  labeled Vought, “the Shadow President” … “the man who has drawn the road map for Trump’s second term. Vought has consolidated power to an extent that insiders say they feel like “he is the commander in chief.” To my knowledge, I have not heard Trump challenge or disavow anything that Vought has said.

Through their unconstitutional rhetoric and actions, Trump and his sycophants are trying to push the country towards a “Post-Constitutional America” and into a, autocracy, kleptocracy, or dictatorship.

Trump’s advisor Steven Bannon told the country in 2019 that the administration’s mission is the ‘deconstruction of the administrative state”. Vought rails against a "ruling elite" or "regime" composed of federal bureaucrats, and political figures that has hijacked American democracy, acting as a "deep state" that promotes "woke" policies and subverts constitutional order. However, when one looks into the Trump administration’s policies, they are transitioning power away from the federal government and into the hands of the oligarchal “ruling elite”. Corporate interest, control and greed are imposing themselves upon the American people every day.

When Vought says, “We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected. We want, when they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work. Because they are increasingly viewed as the villains.”  He is saying very clearly that he wants to do away constitutional powers that allow other branches of government to serve as a “check and balance” on the executive branch.  This not an ideology of “radical constitutionalism” as he calls it, it’s laying the foundation for the return of the monarch, the authoritarian, the dictator.

 Prior to Trump murdering fisherman in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, the administration, through Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, fired the top Judge Advocates General (JAGs) for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. By doing away with all the top attorneys in the military, there’s no one left to tell him that killing civilians without due process is illegal.

Trump has been very clear for years; he wants to do away with the constitutionally protected right of “birthright citizenship”. He issued Executive Order 14160 on January 20, 2025, titled "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”.  Executive Order 14160 directs federal agencies to deny passports and birth certificates to children born in the U.S. if neither parent is a citizen or lawful permanent resident.  There’s one problem with this order; it’s called the 14^th Amendment to the US Constitution. It reads as follows: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside". You don’t need a law degree to figure this one out. If you can read, this one is pretty simple. Without the 14^th Amendment, there are no Irish Americans, Italian Americans or African Americans, since the only peoples with roots in the U.S. are native Americans.

Trump wants to expand the role of the Federal government in the election process. Earlier in February Trump said, “We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many—15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.”  The Constitution already addresses the election process. It’s called Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 of the US Constitution: “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof…” Courts have repeatedly ruled that President Trump’s 2025 Executive Order 14248 overstepped his authority by attempting to impose voting rules not authorized by Congress. Judge Kollar-Kotelly declared that both Sections 2(d) and 3(d) of Executive Order 14248 are “inconsistent with the constitutional separation of powers and cannot lawfully be implemented.”  

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Trump administration is working hard to “make sure we have the right people voting” heading into the 2026 midterms.  Who are “the right people”? Again, there’s an obstacle in the way. The 15th Amendment prohibits the federal government and states from denying a citizen the right to vote.  It reads as follows: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Again, if you can read, this one is pretty simple.

During a November 2024 interview with Tucker Carlson, Vought said, “We're trying to build a shadow office of Legal Counsel so that when a future president says, what legal authorities do I need to shut down the riots? We want to be able to shut down the riots and not have the legal community or the defense community to come in and say, that's an inappropriate use of what you're trying to do.” Since the beginning of 2026 and most recently in response to the protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807. This act allows the president to deploy the U.S. military domestically to suppress civil unrest. The First Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits Congress from making laws “…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances". 

Even given these examples, it is important to understand that Trump is not the causation of this threat to the constitution, he is the culmination of the threat.  Russell Vought was professing these threats to our civil rights and civil liberties before Trump came to power. Trump had nothing to do with the flood of corporate money polluting the American electoral process. That was Lewis Powell with “The Powell memo” in 1971 resulting in the 2010 Citizens United case. Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas came to the bench in 1991, Samuel A. Alito, Jr. in 2006, and Amy Coney Barrett in 2020.  They were all a part of the misguided 6-3 vote holding that U.S. presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken within their core constitutional powers and at least presumptive immunity for all official acts.  Basically, that ruling places the American president above the law.

Contrary to the very incendiary and dangerous rhetoric of this administration, it is still "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." 

We Are Not in A “Post-Constitutional America” even though Trump and his minions are trying to create one.

Dr. Wilmer Leon is a nationally broadcast radio talk-show host. Author of Politics Another Perspective. Host of Inside the Issues w/ Dr. Wilmer Leon on SiriusXM Satellite radio channel 126. Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. www.twitter.com/drwleon and Dr. Leon’s Prescription at Facebook.com.

Feb. 14, 2026

(TriceEdneyWire.com)-I listened to a Congressional Oversight Hearing where Atty. General Pamela Bondi was requested to answer questions regarding how DOJ is being handled. One question that stands out was about women sitting in the room, who’d experienced sex abuse—some of them having these illegal things happen when one was as young as 9 years old. Others were teenagers when they were introduced to Donald Trump’s friend, Jeffrey Epstein. One Member asked several questions of the women if they had ever been able to meet with the Attorney General about their case. All the answers were “NO”.

Being such a huge case, one would think the A.G. would be happy to get information from the victims. The names coming up in the case, including the President’s over 30,000 times, you’d think the A.G. would be interested.  Not this A.G! When asked about meeting with girls or apologizing to them, Bondi absolutely refused to apologize!  As shocking as the A.G.’s refusal was, she flippantly declined. She interrupted Members not allowing them to finish their questions. She would turn to staff to grab a piece of paper with non-responses to what was being asked then reading about a so-called problem in the Member’s district. She talked over Members, yelled at them and disrespected them in all the ways she could, but did not answer their questions.She relished answering things they didn’t ask, and the Republican Committee Chair supported her. 

Many listeners were surprised by her evasive and sassy responses to questions about her department's actions. She stuck to saying anything to attack any member who wore the Democratic label. When a Republican Member who’d been seeking answers spoke, he received the same treatment as Democrats.

Bondi did everything she could to shield Trump from alleged abuses and totally became his guardian. She never deviated from her job to protect Trump. I kept thinking she would deviate from her notes that were constantly fed to her by staff. Rep. Lucy McBath, when speaking about the murder of her son, Bondi tried to modulate her tone.

 I must give her credit that she knew what her mission was and she never deviated.  The people sitting behind her handing her pictures and notes knew what their mission was. It was to attack the speaker. Bondi was busy getting the pre-planned notes she was told to use.  As a woman, I was embarrassed for her, but she had no shame for herself.  She just wanted to please her boss!

Maybe no one taught her what her job was to do when called before a Congressional Oversight Committee! Instead of sitting in the hot seat all day, she could have told the truth and gotten back to whatever they do over at the DOJ before lunch. We saw the show Bondi put on today when she had a chance to show the American people what DOJ had been doing to advance Justice! She chose to evade why 250 people left DOJ; why 69 were separated, why many deputies, attorneys and career prosecutors left DOJ when they saw good people fired or laid off. She forgot she was now in the big leagues and when you cannot live up to the responsibilities of your job, you soon get a chance to return home! She should be on her way back to Florida now!

She tried to control the conversation with compliments about Donald Trump. Under Bondi, the reputation of DOJ took a big hit in this Oversight Hearing. The way she handled things was nothing short of insanity. Victims of the Epstein matter were sitting right behind her. Knowing the facts, she refused to say the simple words “I’m sorry” while at least two Members of Congress gave her a chance to do so. She spent her time praising Donald Trump!

Feb. 8, 2026

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - There are moments in American history when cruelty is not accidental—it is strategic.

Recent reports that the president circulated or endorsed a video depicting former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys, followed by a refusal to apologize or disavow the imagery, belong to a long and poisonous tradition in this country. It is the  deliberate dehumanization of Black people to justify harm, exclusion, and control.

Why monkeys?

Because in America, likening Black people to animals has never been random. It has been a tool. Enslavers used it to argue Africans were less than human. Scientists distorted it into “race science.” Politicians weaponized it to excuse chains, whips, lynch mobs, Jim Crow, and voter suppression. When you deny someone’s humanity, you can deny their rights—and eventually their lives.

This is not isolated behavior. This is pattern.

The same political figure launched his national career by pushing the birther lie—that Barack Obama was not a U.S. citizen, not legitimate, not truly American. Since then, we have heard immigrants from African nations dismissed as coming from “shitholes,” Somalis described as “garbage,” and Black-led initiatives branded as “tainted” under the attack on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—programs that were never about favoritism, but about access long denied.

Words matter. Images matter more.

Psychologists will tell you that repeated dehumanizing imagery does measurable harm—especially to children. When a president traffics in such symbolism, it gives permission for bullying, for employment discrimination for unfair massive incarceration.  Young Black people do not experience these moments as abstract politics; they experience them in hallways, online spaces, classrooms, and workplaces—where being called a “monkey” is not satire, but threatening dehumanization.

I have seen this damage up close.

In 2017, while teaching journalism and training Black students to excel in a profession that has rarely made room for them, my class discovered online images of the Obamas—and even their daughters—grotesquely depicted as monkeys. My students were shaken. I was shaken. And yet, I did what Black elders have always done: I taught history, resilience, brilliance. I reminded them that Black Americans survived slavery, Jim Crow, lynching, redlining, and voter suppression—not alone, but alongside White Americans who refused to surrender their conscience.

But survival should not be the standard. Dignity should be.

The real scandal is not just the imagery—it is the silence surrounding it. Where is the outrage from business leaders who break bread with power while families struggle to afford food? Where is the sustained pressure from media institutions that soften coverage in pursuit of access, contracts, or future ventures? Where are politicians—of all parties—who understand that democracy cannot survive when hate is normalized at the top?

Scripture warns us plainly: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” (Proverbs 18:21) In modern America, that tongue includes images, policies, budgets, and omissions.

Dehumanization is never just rhetoric. It is rehearsal.

History teaches us that once a group is portrayed as less than human, violence—economic, psychological, or physical—soon follows. Jobs are stripped. Contracts are canceled. Protections are erased. And the public is told this is efficiency, not cruelty.

Actions speak louder than words—but silence speaks, too.

This is a moment that demands more than statements. It demands refusal. Refusal by media to normalize hate. Refusal by corporations to profit from proximity to power while communities suffer. Refusal by citizens to accept that this is just “politics as usual.”

America has seen this road before. We know where it leads. The question is whether we will once again pretend we don’t.

Nov. 19, 2025

Ghazala Hashmi, Abigail Spanberger and Jay Jones, newly elected lieutenant governor, governor and attorney general of  Virginia. 

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - After more than 40 days, the US government shutdown is over, air travel is returning to normal, and people are less worried about being able to put Thanksgiving dinner on their tables. Yet families across the country will have to make significant decisions and choices around the spiraling costs of healthcare because Republicans have refused to extend Obamacare subsidies.

Yet the Democratic sweep of the Nov 5 off-year elections has given hope to the masses of Black people as the country contends with the party in power and many of its most fervent supporters who are content to watch ICE agents arbitrarily stop, harass, detain and deport immigrants and US citizens; cruelly block the issuance of SNAP benefits to 42 million needy families; and as inflation batters Americans.  

Election officials said turnout was high, with Democrats snatching up wins and voters in different parts of the country voting in favor of important ballot questions centered on free school meals, redistricting, and governors’ races.

Sweep. Those words, set against a black background on Facebook, is what met anyone who follows Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever or who happened to scroll by her Facebook page on the Wednesday morning after national off-year elections.

DeWeever, a political strategist and content creator, said she felt a great deal of satisfaction following Democrats shellacking of MAGA Republicans in nearby Virginia, New Jersey, New York and California.

By the end of the night Tuesday, Democratic Party candidates had secured gubernatorial wins in New Jersey and Virginia; saw the surprise election of a young, Democratic Socialist candidate, Zohran Mamdani, elected mayor in New York City, powered by young, multi-ethnic, disaffected voters; passage of Proposition 50, a measure that gives California legislators the room to redistrict electoral lines and give Democrats the opportunity to potentially capture five additional seats in the House of Representatives; the defeat of a measure in Maine that would have restricted voting; and the reelection of three Pennsylvania Supreme Court judges to retain the Democratic majority.

Just about all the races revolved around affordability issues, experts said.

“These wins were critical because it showed that people will fight back even if the Democratic Party appears spineless. It was a powerful rejection in multiple states in multiple ways. It was a full-fledged rejection of (the Trump administration’s) autocratic ways,” said Jones-DeWeever.

She said the comprehensive wins across the country illustrates that “we are still a two-party system. We can’t allow these criminals to maintain power.”

DeWeever said she’s struck by the Virginia results, where voters elected the state’s first woman governor, Abigail Spanberger; the first Muslim lieutenant governor, Ghazala Hashmi,  and a Black man, Jay Jones, as attorney general. In addition to these gains, the Dems picked up 13 seats, giving them much more room to legislate.

“The legislature will be able to redistrict, counteract Trump efforts,” she said. “What’s most important to me is Mamdani’s win. It is based on turnout and expansion of the electorate. He ran the type of campaign Democrats could have run if they had a spine.”

Mamdani, a former New York state assemblyman and a Muslim immigrant from Uganda, electrified voters in New York, while terrifying Republicans, billionaires and corporatist, right-leaning Democrats.

Billionaires, and political action committees tied to former Mayor Andrew Cuomo, poured more than $40 million into an effort to derail Mamdani’s race to grab the seat. Trump endorsed Cuomo the day before the race, inaccurately characterizing Mamdani as a communist and threatening to without federal funds to New York City if he won.

That was all for nought, because by the time the race was called 35 minutes after polls closed, Mamdani had secured more than 1 million votes and 50 percent of votes cast.

Democrats are celebrating after the decisive victories in several high-profile contests, the nation’s first major elections since Trump’s second term in office. Political pundits and other experts said these crucial wins are an early barometer of the public reaction to Trump’s policies and programs and will provide fuel for Democrats before the 2026 mid-term elections.

Trump admitted Wednesday that Republicans had “a bad night,” and met with fellow Republicans the next day to discuss the fallout and implications of the win. DeWeever said the public also are angry and concerned about Trump policies such as burgeoning inflation, high consumer prices, the suspension of SNAP payments and the administration’s antagonistic and aggressive tactics on the immigration front.

Dr. Malik Sekou, a longtime politics and history professor at the University of the Virgin Islands, said he expected Mamdani to come out on top in New York.

“Yes. If you look at my (Facebook) posts for the past few months, I saw this. I thought he was going to win because certain times determine leadership,” said Sekou, an acknowledged Pan African who said he sits far-left politically and supported Rep. Bernie Sanders over Joe Biden. “The way the US is today is that we’re confronted by with a far-right offensive which is on the march in every aspect of American life and which has been taken international. No one can be confused with what’s in front of us. It’s either fight back or surrender. You have to do it Trump’s way or surrender.”

Sekou said anyone who carries the principle of social consciousness in them, they have to fight.

“You have to fight, you have to fight,” he asserted.

It is not lost on him, Sekou said, that Mamdani is taking over leadership in New York City.

“New York City is the cultural capital of the USA. It is the cultural driver and has a large immigrant population, so they have to oppose the policies against them,” said Sekou, who said both of his parents were born in NYC.

But both DeWeever and Sekou cautioned Democrats to enjoy the wins but to temper their excitement and tread carefully.

“I think we have to be very careful. We are still a two-party system,” DeWeever said. “We should celebrate for one day. The only thing we should be very careful of is that we should not let this win allow us to coast into the midterms. The fight for the midterms starts today. We have to fight, make significant investments in organizing and campaigning, getting people ready to vote and prepping for the midterms.”

Like Sekou, DeWeever said she feels that current Democratic leadership is not equipped to fight effectively or successfully against Trump and MAGA Republicans.

“Mamdani won and will serve as a Democrat. It makes sense to utilize this structure. It offers the best chance of winning,” she said. I think we have to be strategic but also be bold in pulling and pushing the party. We must work behind the scene and come out to vote.”