Donald Trump vs. the judges: the decisive confrontation at the heart of his presidency

"Communists," "crazy," or "corrupt" : when citizen and candidate Donald Trump was indicted in four cases in 2023, he repeatedly attacked the judges who were the source of his torment. Back in the White House, his confrontation with the judges has taken on a much broader dimension, placing the American rule of law under unprecedented strain. The federal judges standing in his way, Constitution in hand, are "monsters who want our country to go to hell," the president wrote on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26.

"We are living under a judicial tyranny," Stephen Miller, deputy head of the presidential administration, dared to say two days later. By declaring the reciprocal tariff system illegal, the International Trade Court in New York had just made a resounding decision. On Thursday, the appeals court suspended its application , thus sparing Donald Trump a clear political setback.

That same day, a federal judge upheld the administration's stay of the ban on recruiting foreign students against Harvard University. This is the new normal: chronicling the billionaire's second term requires a daily commute between the courts and the Oval Office.

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