The authority of the unelected
Be careful, here is the key, the enormous risk of authoritarian populism: I have been elected by the citizens, not by the judges. We can make a history of the number of politicians who have used democracy and one of its tools, elections, to then undermine the system, break down the separation of powers: the executive, the legislative and the judicial, and claim that only the executive is right and can make whatever decisions it wants and do whatever suits it best in each case.
No, democracy is based on the rule of law, where we are all obliged to obey the laws and judges are responsible for ensuring that those laws, which have been approved by the legislative power with the corresponding majorities throughout the history of each country, are properly enforced. And judges are elected by a system agreed upon by the main actors with legitimacy and legal capacity, which gives them the essential authority and independence to carry out their work. Of course, they are subject to controls and must answer to their respective institutions if they commit irregularities.
Having to remind people of this basic principle of democracy seems trivial, but unfortunately it is necessary at this time.
It is unacceptable for a president of the United States, or of any other country, to claim exclusive power on the grounds that he was elected by the people and judges were not. Hitler was also elected, and we all know what happened.
The way Donald Trump makes decisions and justifies them is absolutely rude: we are making a fortune with tariffs. He has no shame in saying so. It is one thing to seek a solution to his country's trade imbalances and quite another to impose tariffs on his own initiative and at his own risk, which, as the Trade Court has said, is a clear abuse of power. Trump may have some justification in trying to change certain situations that harm the interests of the United States, but he must do so using the rules and laws that a state governed by the rule of law and democracy has established to guarantee stability, security and coexistence among all. And the problem is not just Trump; in too many countries, not far away, authoritarian populists seek to act as they please.