This article is an opinion piece by Simon Jenkins, who writes about Donald Trump's behavior as President of the United States and its implications for Britain. The article reports that Trump has made promises to voters in Texas, including a $5,000 dividend for every adult citizen, which would be illegal without congressional approval. According to Jenkins, Trump's populism and self-aggrandizing remarks are characteristic of his speeches, with a focus on himself as synonymous with the United States. The article argues that institutions such as Congress and the judiciary have been reluctant to check Trump's power, but some are starting to push back against his policies.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
If Americans vote for a Republican majority in both houses of Congress in November, “I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.”
asserted
I → vote → 5,000
But they must not spend it in Canada or China or anywhere else outside the US.
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they → spend → US
So said Donald Trump in Texas on Wednesday in advance of the forthcoming midterm elections.
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Trump → say → elections
He further told voters to “Pretend that I’m on the ballot”.
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I → tell → ballot
Trump does not have the required trillion dollars in his pocket, and it would be illegal to disperse such a sum without congressional approval.
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it → have → approval
In any case, JD Vance now appears to have rowed back on the promise.
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Vance → appear → promise
Observers from abroad must beware: it is unwise to subject Trump’s populism to the discipline of truth.
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it → beware → truth
Trump also said Americans should thank him for attacking Iran since that country was “two, maybe three weeks away from having a nuclear weapon”, which it intended to use against them.
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country → say → them
The problem is that almost every one of Trump’s speeches refers back to himself, as if he and the United States were synonymous.
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he → refer → himself
He claimed to have won the presidency three times.
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He → claim → presidency
He says: “If we hadn’t won the last election, I’m not sure that our country right now would even exist.”
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country → say → election
He added that the arena where he was speaking was packed, with crowds outside clamouring to get in.
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crowds → add → ?
Pictures show it half empty.
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it → show → ?
Anyone watching can see why there has been much medical debate over whether Trump is exhibiting signs of narcissism disorder.
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Trump → watch → disorder
In 2021 members of the House of Representatives called for the constitution’s 25th amendment, by which a president can be declared unfit for office, to be invoked over the Capitol Hill riot.
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president → call → riot
But that has a high constitutional threshold, requiring a majority of his sycophantic cabinet to declare him unfit.
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him → have → cabinet
As for more conventional checks on a wayward president, they have proved extraordinarily weak.
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they → prove → president
A Congress over which Trump exerts a populist terrorism has been reluctant to use its powers to call him to account.
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Trump → exert → account
He has flagrantly declared wars without congressional authority, abused executive orders as “emergencies” and frozen federal spending to halt the “advance [of] Marxist equity”.
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He → declare → equity
He has even tried to redefine US citizenship, which is unconstitutional.
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which → try → citizenship
Very gradually some institutions supposed to hold the White House in check
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institutions → suppose → check
Judges have blocked attempts to limit birthright citizenship.
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Judges → block → citizenship
Trump’s blanket firing of public officials is being legally challenged, although the supreme court has often sided with him.
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court → challenge → him
Even the Senate Republican leader, John Thune, has balked at Trump’s proposed Save America Act – which would require anyone voting to show documentary proof of US citizenship.
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which → balk → citizenship
Its outrageous gerrymandering would shrink Democrat votes and aid Republicans.
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gerrymandering → shrink → Republicans
Where this president leaves the US’s longstanding allies overseas is less clear.
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leaves → leave → allies
Visitors to the British embassy in Washington are traditionally warned that “we disagree with America about almost everything, but remain the closest of friends”.
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we → warn → friends
Britain distanced itself from war in Vietnam but joined the US, inexplicably, in Iraq.
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Britain → distance → Iraq
But nothing has come near Trump’s sustained abuse of Britain in the past year on everything from defence spending to wind turbines.
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nothing → come → turbines
He sees the UK as “weak” and “on the edge of disaster”.
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He → see → disaster
This opens the central weakness in Anglo-American relations that Trump has made explicit.
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Trump → open → relations
This is the assumption that the US would honour the principle of collective defence and go to war with Russia, in the event that Russia declared war on Europe.
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Russia → honour → Europe
This held during the cold war, with the US’s guarantee of Europe’s security taken as axiomatic.
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guarantee → hold → security
Since the end of the cold war, that guarantee has become ever more flimsy.
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guarantee → become → war
Despite events in Ukraine, it has long seemed implausible that Russia would declare nuclear war on the west, let alone on America itself.
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Russia → seem → America
It is therefore equally implausible that the US could threaten Russia with nuclear retaliation.
uncertain
US → threaten → retaliation
At which point a central essence of the Nato alliance starts to crumble.
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essence → start → alliance
European governments have seen a president ready to annex foreign countries, invade others, disrupt world trade with aggressive tariffs and defy international law.
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governments → see → law
Can such a wayward and egocentric man, devoid of domestic constraints, really be relied on to exercise extreme caution and dependability in circumstances where nuclear weapons are at issue – whether or not the end of the cold war has diminished the threat of east-west confrontation?
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end → rely → confrontation
In other words, nations should start looking realistically at the defence of their own continent and their own borders.
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nations → start → continent
…and 6 more, not listed.
