new video loaded: Can the Courts Save American Democracy?
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Can the Courts Save American Democracy?
Emily Bazelon, a lawyer and writer, thinks the courts have pushed back against Trump in important ways. But ultimately, as she explains on “The Opinions,” they can’t stop the broader expansion of presidential power on their own.
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Can courts save American democracy? What is their actual role here? I think what we’re seeing is they can’t do it on their own. So, I mean, I would argue that the lower courts have been really pretty stalwart. I think the Supreme Court has been far less effective. Whatever its frustration with the emergency docket, until the decision about the National Guard in Chicago, Trump, the administration had an almost unbroken string of victories on the emergency docket. So we’ve seen the Supreme Court exceed in a number of domains. And yes, they probably are going to push back in some of the most extreme cases, but we’re still going to end up with expanded presidential power for this particular president.
January 24, 2026