The pervasive talking point of the Left since President Trump returned to office is that he is trying to make himself into a “dictator.”

Starting in the early weeks of his new term, the main evidence for the “dictator” claim was said to be Trump’s actions to make the government respond to his policies, via actions like large-scale lay-offs, issuance of Executive Orders, and cancellation of grants and contracts.

(Here for example is a piece from the Guardian from February 13, complaining of what they called Trump’s “illegitimate power grab” by, among other things, cancelling grants and downsizing agencies from USAID to the CFPB. See also, numerous comments on this site from frequent commenter Richard Greene.)

And now, in recent weeks, the “dictator” rhetoric has ramped up to a new level, specifically in response to Trump’s assertive enforcement of the immigration laws. The new claim is that Trump is trying to make himself the “King.”

Now more than four months into President Trump’s second term, there have been dozens of District Court injunctions blocking policies that the new administration has sought to implement.

Deportations of gang members illegally in the U.S. back to El Salvador? Enjoined! Mass firings at USAID? Enjoined! Other mass firings at 22 other agencies and departments? Enjoined! Cancellation of funding of certain grants for Harvard? Enjoined! Ending of eligibility for Harvard to participate in foreign student visa program? Enjoined! Termination of federal funding for public schools maintaining DEI programs? Enjoined! Termination of security clearances for certain prominent law firms? Enjoined! And these are just examples among many more.

It seems that whatever new policy President Trump tries to implement, it will be enjoined within days by some left wing federal judge.

But before you get too outraged about the courts (and Democrat-appointed judges) blocking President Trump’s every move, let’s not forget about a few constraints that the courts imposed on prior President Biden.