Deliberately Degrading American Government

What we learn by thinking about Trump’s tariffs and Elon Musk’s acts of administrative sabotage as one

Tesla Founder Elon Musk walks on stage to greet President-elect Donald Trump during a rally at Capital One Arena in Washington, on January 19, 2025. (Photo by Tom Brenner for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

It’s hard to believe the second Trump administration began a little less than two weeks ago. So much has happened—or been attempted—in that limited time. But it’s two very different developments over the past few days that really concern me—more so than most of the early Executive Orders, the lawless firing of Inspectors General, or blustering proclamations about renaming the Gulf of Mexico.

The first of these developments is Trump following through on his promise to impose steep tariffs—not just on our adversaries but also on our closest trading partners (Canada and Mexico, and possibly the European Union as well).

The second of these developments is what Elon Musk is doing in the federal bureaucracy—which feels pretty unprecedented to me and points in very troubling directions.

I’ll examine each of these developments in turn, explaining why each individually has me so concerned—but also why contemplating both of them together raises even more chilling possibilities.

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