Trump’s Dangerous ‘Morality’ of Absolute Power

“My own morality. My own mind. It's the only thing that can stop me.”

There it is, plain as day: the stark logic of authoritarian power.

In an interview with the New York Times, Donald Trump laid it out bare. It was a stunning declaration of a dangerous political philosophy. Trump said that his personal sense of right and wrong is the sole constraint on his power as commander-in-chief. His words exposed the authoritarian nucleus at the heart of what Dr. George Lakoff calls “Strict Father” morality.

International law? Irrelevant. Treaties?

“It depends what your definition of international law is,” Trump said.

Constitutional checks? Only applicable “under certain circumstances.”

This is what Republican thinking has been building toward for decades. The rise of MAGA has seen Republicans abandon all of their stated principles. Concepts like fiscal responsibility, family values, constitutional limits on executive power have all been tossed aside, replaced by one simple value: servile worship of Trump. This does not describe every voter with conservative values, but it absolutely describes the moral framework that now dominates Republican leadership and MAGA politics.

There are some who ask: “What happened to traditional conservative ideology?” But this is conservative ideology taken to its logical conclusion. In the Strict Father worldview, leaders don’t follow rules, they make them. Strength becomes the main substitute for virtue, and the leader’s judgment alone decides the difference between right and wrong. It follows from this that the act of questioning his authority becomes a moral violation.

We can see this logic explicitly in Trump’s MAGA party. Strict Father logic explains why Republicans keep referring to Trump as “Daddy.” It explains why they can’t be shamed by hypocrisy. It explains why “law and order” means obedience to authority, not obedience to the law. It also explains why Trump’s supporters view any defiance of his executive power as illegitimate interference rather than necessary (and constitutional) checks and balances.

Back in 2017, Dr. Lakoff wrote that Trump operates around a central metaphor: “the president is the nation.” Trump sees himself as the living embodiment of the nation itself and believes it is the job of government, and of the people, to serve him—not the other way around. Every decision flows from his will, his judgment, his sense of what he needs. This is megalomania dressed up as moral clarity. And it is enabled by a dangerous moral framework in which authority and force define right and wrong.

Some Republicans have started to defy Trump. This stems mostly from a need for self-preservation. Polls show the Republican Party in trouble heading into the 2026 midterms. But they are caught between a rock and hard place. Follow Trump, lose the country. Defy Trump, lose the MAGA base.

This sounds insane to anyone who believes in democratic governance. But it’s important to recognize that politics is based on conflicting definitions of morality that lead to certain understandings of the world. Once you understand the conservative moral system, the situation begins to make more sense. As Dr. Lakoff spelled out in Moral Politics (1996), conservative moral politics operate according to a hierarchy that dictates the “moral order” of the world:

• God above Man

• Man above Nature

 • The Disciplined (Strong) above the Undisciplined (Weak)

• The Rich above the Poor

• Employers above Employees

• Adults above Children

• Western culture above other cultures

• America above other countries

• Men above Women

• Whites above Nonwhites

• Christians above non-Christians

• Straights above Gays

One might argue that MAGA has now placed Trump above God. But for the most part, this Republican moral hierarchy holds up and explains a lot of what we’re seeing today. Trump’s efforts to destroy the environment, give more tax breaks to billionaires, to torment immigrants, to use the justice system against his enemies, to invade other countries in violation of international law, to engage in abject racism, to embrace open corruption, etc. It’s all there.

So what can we do?

First, we must name this explicitly as a moral question. Trump is expressing the Republican worldview with a stark honesty rarely seen in politics. His words make it clear that this is a system that places the leader’s judgment above laws, treaties, or constitutional constraints. When Republicans defend this, make them own it. Most Americans don’t believe we should live under the tyranny of one person’s ideas. In fact, it runs contrary to the most basic principles of our nation, and it’s a dangerous political position for Republicans to take.

Second, we must activate the moral counter-narrative. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, ours is a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Government serves the nation, not the president, and our system is based on laws, not the mood of the sleepy wannabe tyrant in the White House.

It’s crucial to relentlessly frame every issue in terms of public servants’ duty to the nation versus their subservience to presidential whim. Make Republicans in Congress choose, explicitly and repeatedly, whether they serve the country or the president. Don’t let them hide behind procedure or party discipline. Force the moral choice into public view.

Third, we must recognize this is a fight over competing moral visions. This is not a debate Democrats can win with facts, reason, or poll-tested “centrist” policies. Trump’s MAGA base embraces Strict Father morality because they have been taught to respect order, hierarchy, and the comfort of knowing someone “strong” is in charge. In Trump, they have a father figure who doesn't have to explain himself to judges, allies, or international law, and who openly states that might makes right. We must understand that the differences here are deep and embedded in the brain, not fixable with superficial political persuasion tactics.

Fourth, we must articulate our own moral vision clearly. Democracy is more than the absence of dictatorship. Democracy is designed around a positive, progressive moral framework in which power serves the common good, laws and rights constrain authority, and strength means protecting people rather than dominating them. “We the people” is a moral commitment that means no individual—no matter how powerful—stands above the Constitution or the people it protects. Democracy is a system rooted in empathy, not unchecked authority.

Too often, Democrats try to hide moral questions behind policy and poll-tested platitudes. They seem almost embarrassed to talk about the moral foundations of their positions—if they’re even aware of them. But morality is the heart of all politics. Every political position stems from a moral framework, and there are vastly different frameworks.

Trump and the Republicans make the moral aspect clear, but you rarely hear Democrats discuss morality. Unfortunately, when Democrats do adopt a moral framework, they tend to mimic the Republican moral system, adopting Strict Father positions on crime and society in an effort to move toward the so-called “center” (by moving to the right).

Trump’s declaration that his personal morality rules over all Americans provides an opportunity to confront the reality of these competing moral visions head-on. (Those who argue there is nothing moral about Trump fail to understand how moral systems work.)

Which morality best fits our nation? Will we be a nation of laws, or a nation where “might makes right,” where the president's personal judgment overrides all legal and constitutional limits? Or will we be a country where our founding principles of freedom and progress still mean something?

Will we be a democracy, or a dictatorship? That is the main question facing us today. And more than anything, it’s a moral question.