In February 2025, President Donald Trump posted an image of himself wearing a golden crown with the words “Long Live The King.” Days later, he shared another image dressed in papal robes, joking about becoming Pope. These posts sparked backlash, with critics pointing to Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution, which forbids titles of nobility. Trump’s rhetoric, while styled as humor, reflects a deeper erosion of democratic norms. In a nation founded on the rejection of monarchy and the embrace of rule by the people, such gestures are not just symbolic—they are dangerous. The presidency is not a throne; it is a public trust. Treating it otherwise threatens the very foundations of the republic.

North Carolina’s 2026 Senate race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive—and unpredictable—contests in the country. With high-profile contenders emerging in both parties and a vulnerable incumbent caught between factions, the outcome will depend heavily on who actually enters the race.

Prior to 2021, the State of Oklahoma allowed transgender individuals to change the sex on their birth certificates to reflect their gender identity after transition. In 2021, as a wave of anti-trans sentiment spread across many conservative states, Governor Kevin Stitt signed an Executive Order barring the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) from amending the sex of any individual on their birth certificates. Rowan Fowler, a transgender woman who had been affected by the Order, joined with several other similarly situated individuals to sue the Governor, on the grounds that his order violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of Equal Protection. After losing in the District Court, and winning on appeal at the Tenth Circuit, Fowler and her fellow litigants now face one final legal hurdle at the Supreme Court. What merit is there to her Equal Protection claim?