What if There’s No Way to Stop Trump’s Approach to Power? | Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

President Trump may forever reshape the boundaries of executive power. This week on “Interesting Times,” Ross Douthat and Jack Goldsmith, who was the head of the White House’s Office of Legal Counsel under President George W. Bush, discuss which cases are most likely to win in the courts and permanently expand the executive branch — for better or worse. Read the full transcript https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/opinion/ross-douthat-interesting-times-jack-goldsmith.html 00:54 Donald Trump’s “moonshot on executive power” 03:07 What has surprised Goldsmith the most 05:28 Are we in a constitutional crisis? 08:13 Alien Enemies Act 13:05 The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia 17:00 The moral vs. legal arguments for deportations 21:19 Could this affect American citizens? 27:55 Trump’s firings of federal employees and restructuring of U.S.A.I.D. 33:55 Trump’s power over congressionally appropriated funding 35:56 Obama v. Trump’s discretion on enforcing laws passed by Congress 39:36 The TikTok case 44:10 Lawsuit over Trump’s tariffs 48:32 How the Supreme Court (maybe) thinks about picking its battles 50:35 Worst case scenarios 53:16 What the Supreme Court can do if the Trump administration does not comply 57:52 What a Trump executive power revolution could look like in 2028 and beyond 01:01:03 If Democrats win in 2028, what happens? This episode of “Interesting Times” was produced by Sophia Alvarez Boyd, Elisa Gutierrez, Andrea Betanzos and Katherine Sullivan. It was edited by Alison Bruzek and Jordana Hochman. Engineering by Pat McCusker. Cinematography by Marina King. Video editing by Jan Kobal and Dani Dillon. Original music by Isaac Jones, Pat McCusker and Aman Sahota. Fact-checking by Kate Sinclair, Michelle Harris and Mary Marge Locker. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta. Directed by Jonah M. Kessel. The director of Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Watch more on @InterestingTimesNYT.