According to Bush’s former speechwriter David Frum, Trump is sending a terrifying, clear message. While going after enemies, he’s also undermining the US system. Frum has listed and summed up all the things that are happening in the second presidency.
Now it is alarming for the Americans, as the aftermath is truly scary. Frum shared his weary comparison of Trump’s second presidency and the Civil War. According to him, the fate of the Americans after Trump will be similar to that of the Civil War.
His words read, “The reactionary losers who tried to overthrow the U.S. Constitution may acknowledge themselves beaten, but they won’t acknowledge themselves wrong.” So if the Americans do not acknowledge this, there’s a possibility they’ll try again if they get a chance.
He compared the situation to the Depot Dome corruption scandal, where the president’s supporters believed he was wrong and should be punished. Moreover, they accepted that something like the Watergate scandal should never be repeated.
Frum has been a long-term Trump critic since his 2016 election. He pointed out the current administration and how it has Trump loyalists. Furthermore, the FBI raid on the former National Security Adviser John Bolton was problematic.
BBC Newsnight
“This is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.” – The Atlantic’s David Frum on the “sick psychological dynamic of what President Trump is up to” with proceedings like the FBI raid on former national security advisor John Bolton. #Newsnighthttps://t.co/5mix3KQIvz— Jewel Whitehead (@jewel035) August 25, 2025
After becoming Trump’s critic, Bolton’s home was searched for classified information. Frum says whatever is happening in the second term is ‘outrageous’ and ‘impossible,’ a few months before. He wrote, “Every day, there’s a new movement away from the rule of law,” pointing towards the corrupt personal rule.
The question that arises after the term is, how does America turn back? He also pointed out that the government is changing fast. Amid Trump’s immigrant crackdown, ICE has turned into a paramilitary force hired to appease Trump.
A lawless president is building an enormous paramilitary force that sees its duty as loyalty to him personally, not to any written law. Latest on The David Frum Show. https://t.co/oW4KvckoyU
— David Frum (@davidfrum) August 24, 2025
This way, his family also gets hundreds of millions of payoffs, gratuities, and gifts. He reiterated that what’s happening in Trump’s term cannot be undone even if a president with respect for the law is elected. What Trump is teaching his supporters is that public office is a game of revenge.
