BILLBOARD News Now
Power Play
(Editor’s note: This morning Axios AM published the piece below. They offer an interesting summary of Trump 2.0. More importantly they “Go deeper: with “The most unprecedented presidency in 250 years.” Take time and click to read the deeper piece.)
President Trump seethed when the Supreme Court stripped away his unilateral tariff authority, the first real check on his presidency.
- Then he set out to impose his will on every remaining vector of American power — smashing norms and shrugging off Congress in a historic, 14-day show of executive force, Axios’ Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write in a “Behind the Curtain” column.
Why it matters: Over the past two weeks, Trump launched a massive Middle East war, blacklisted the hottest AI company on the planet, ordered new global tariffs, and presided over the biggest media merger in two decades.
- He did it all unilaterally — without passing a single law, and without pretending he needed to. Axios’ Zachary Basu narrates this epic fortnight:
🚢 The tariffs: On Feb. 20, hours after the Supreme Court ruling, Trump imposed a new 10% global tariff under a separate emergency law — daring the courts to stop him again.
- By sidestepping the court’s ruling rather than accepting it, Trump sent an unmistakable message: No institution — not Congress, not the judiciary — would constrain his ability to reshape the global economy.
🎥 The merger: On Feb. 26, Netflix walked away from the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery — handing Trump allies Larry and David Ellison control of CNN, HBO and Hollywood’s two most storied studios.
- Paramount’s David Ellison privately assured Trump officials last year that he would make sweeping changes to CNN, a network despised by the president, The Wall Street Journal reported.
- The Ellisons’ emerging media empire — CBS, TikTok and soon CNN — gives Trump allies unprecedented influence on what Americans watch, read and scroll.
🤖 The blacklist: On Feb. 27, Trump ordered every federal agency to stop doing business with Anthropic after the $380 billion AI startup refused to give the Pentagon unfettered access to its technology.
- The Pentagon then designated Anthropic a “supply chain risk” — a label typically reserved for adversarial foreign companies, and one that a former Trump AI adviser called “attempted corporate murder.”
- “I fired Anthropic like dogs,” Trump told Politico.
🪖 The war: On Feb. 28, Trump did what no president before him had dared — launch a full military assault on an Iranian regime that has tormented the United States since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
- Some U.S. officials have been careful not to call it a “war” — a label that connotes congressional approval — or admit that “regime change” is the goal. The president hasn’t bothered with either pretense.
- Trump told Axios yesterday that he must be personally involved in selecting Iran’s next leader just as he was in Venezuela, where interim President Delcy Rodríguez has become a compliant conduit for U.S. interests.
- In the same interview with Axios’ Barak Ravid, Trump demanded that Israel’s president pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — seeking to simultaneously pick Iran’s next leader and shield his war partner from criminal prosecution.
💡 The big picture: Trump has spent his second term systematically testing how much power a president can seize without Congress, the courts or public opinion stopping him. The answer, so far: almost limitless.
- Trump has signed fewer laws than any modern president at this stage — because he doesn’t need them. Executive orders, military force and the bully pulpit have proven more efficient.
- Trump’s advisers say he’s content using unilateral powers, and congressional Republicans — with rare exceptions — have cheered him on at every turn.
Share this column … Go deeper: “The most unprecedented presidency in 250 years.”
Use icons and envelope above to forward this post to your friends.
Follow us on Twitter (X), Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook or Threads.
Act One for WV Democrats
Act One in the 2012 Democratic gubernatorial primary played out yesterday in the Legislature. House Speaker Richard Thompson (D-Wayne) and Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin (D-Logan) both are known as wanting to be Governor. Labor supported Thompson for Speaker in...
West Virginia Wins in Senate
It has been a while since I thought about the strength of Rural America in the U. S. Senate. Today the Outlook section of The Washington Post provides an excellent insight into how small states can influence the outcome of legislation in the United States Senate. It...
New Tone in Health Care Debate
Members of Congress look forward to August when they go home. It has become a tradition. But 2009 is different. The debate in Washington over health care has now spilled over to the towns and villages throughout America. Peggy Noonan points out in her Saturday Wall...
It’s Time for a Real Republican Summit
Over the weekend I participated in the Underwood Interns Republican Summit. The exchange of information was productive and the new faces were exciting. Driving home I thought it is time for a real Republican Summit. Nothing is getting done by the State Party. The...
A Call from Washington
A former colleague (non-political) from my days in Washington telephoned. They wanted to know if I had seen the piece “The Squandered Stimulus” in today’s The Washington Post. After reading it I thought this has to be shared. Remember this came from The Washington...
Governor Manchin Increases State’s Influence On National Level
West Virginia’s number one salesman Governor Joe Manchin has moved into a leadership role as Vice Chair in the National Governor’s Association (NGA). All of us should be proud to see our Governor in this role. He is positioned to influence policy and the direction...
Melody Potter leads for Republicans in Satellite Voting Questions
Every West Virginia voter should thank Melody Potter for raising important questions about satellite early voting. The Republican Party of WV really owes Ms. Potter. State party leaders never even appointed a committee or form a task force to look at the...
New Approach to Lobby Cap and Trade
Emails were flying asking West Virginians to contact their Representative when the U. S. House of Representatives considered the Cap and Trade legislation. The effort was successful and all voted no. But the bill passed. The action now is in the Senate. I bet there...
Thoughts on Improving the WVGOP
Doug McKinney, Chairman of West Virginia Republican Party, sent a newsletter asking for thoughts on improving the WVGOP. He asks specific questions. Since readers of this blog are interested in a two-party system in our State I thought I would share my respond to...
Majority of Republicans don’t think Palin’s qualified for President
Political observers across the country have been wondering what impact Governor Palin’s unexpected resignation would have on Republicans if she decided to make a bid for the Republican nomination in 2012. I came across this piece on the CNN Political Ticker this...
Governors Race Moves to Mountains
Is there a more beautiful place than the mountains of Tucker County to campaign? A Friends of Blackwater fund raiser was hosted Friday by Steve White and Chuck Smith two former chairs of the State Democratic Party. When two Democrats gather these days you can expect...
History Lesson on Political Comebacks
One of my objectives as a blogger is to put forward “think pieces”. One caught my attention in The New York Times “Week in Review”. It provides a history of how both national political parties have come back from bad situations. Those interested in the future of...
BILLBOARD Archives
Young People Setting An Example
Two experiences I had this weekend provided encouragement about West Virginia’s young people and our leaders for the future. As a judge for a Future Farmers of America (FFA) project I meet nine outstanding young people from various parts of our State. Each were...
Corridor H Gets Good News
Senator Robert C. Byrd still has Corridor H on his agenda. This is exciting news. Governor Manchin was in Washington to brief Senator Byrd and his staff on highway needs. He reported on his telephone visit with Senator Byrd. “The first thing he wanted to know was...
What’s Going On, Sarah Palin?
A brilliant media strategy was executed by Governor Palin on Friday. She used one of the slowest news days other than Christmas to inform the political world she is changing course. Time will reveal if her political strategy (if there is one) was as smart. When my...
Another Candidate Found…..In Coalton
A reader of our blog contacted me to say I missed a potential gubernatorial candidate in my Coalton report. Unrecognized by me in the crowd was out-going Morgantown Mayor Ron Justice. My correspondent says "rumors are swirling that he may be testing the waters as...
Byrd Health Mystery
The Huddle - a must read morning briefing on the lastest congressional news contains the piece below this morning. Byrd Health Mystery: The reality is that a lot of key people remain in the dark about Sen. Robert Byrd's condition. From Roll Call's Jessica Brady: ...
Governors Race Underway…..In Coalton
The 2012 race for the Democratic nomination for Governor got underway Saturday. Watching the potential candidates you would have thought the election was next week. They worked the crowd and created excitement during the annual Coalton Days homecoming celebration. ...
Will WV Republicans be relevant in 2012?
That question will be answered by the preparation, actions and results in the November 2010 election. West Virginia Republicans face challenges starting with participation in its own organization. At a recent Martinsburg meeting only 37 out of 133 members of the...
Welcome to my billboard
Sometime ago a colleague suggested I write a blog. I ask why? She explained with your 25 years of experience including Capitol Hill, having managed to elect a Republican Governor in West Virginia during the 1996 Clinton landslide and playing a leading role in 2000...