Inside the strategy to tear down Trump's legacy with a 'sledgehammer'

President Donald Trump is struggling in the polls due to the ongoing unpopularity of his war in Iran and stewardship of the American economy. Yet according to a former Republican speechwriter, his biggest political fear should be having all of his achievements reversed by a potential Democratic successor in the White House.

The Bulwark's Tim Miller declared on his podcast that he expects "someone in 2028 to take the mantle of 'I have the authority now from the Supreme Court' going to tear this shit down one brick at a time."

He added, "We're going to fund it to bring people in, everyone. I don't know what any tools are. Their jackhammer. I want a mallet. What's a big mallet called? A sledgehammer. There's big demolition excavators."

Fellow Bulwark commentator Jonathan Last added "Like the ones that are big enough to be in a quarry, right? By the German company that makes them. And I actually feel like the next Democratic president should take his oath of office, not from Congress, but actually while seated in the pilot's chair for a giant demolition excavator. With a hard hat. Take it."

At the same time, Miller expressed concern that the Supreme Court is so partisan that they will allow Trump to do far worse things to America rather than stop him.

"Let's say the president went to Fort Knox," Miller said. "Stole a bunch of gold bars, took them for himself... Gave them to Ivanka. Ivanka flew to Albania, sold them on the private market. And then some good government group files an objection to this. And the Supreme Court takes them. They're like, well... They don't actually have any standing over Fort Knox."

Last agreed and speculated that, if a Democratic president tries to reverse Trump's achievements, the same Supreme Court that has argued Trump can do whatever he wants will suddenly be upset with a Democrats' liberal use of power.

"They will get around to the actual constitutionality when a Democrat tries to tear it down," Last said. "Right. So they'll punt, punt, punt until it's fait accompli. So it's just done. Like, well, I can't really rule on it. It's finished. Can't go on the merits."

Indeed, Trump has already managed to undo the legacies of several of his Democratic predecessors while in office. His war against Iran was often framed as a rebuking of President Barack Obama's Iran nuclear deal and his $40 trillion debt runs in contrast to President Bill Clinton's four budget surpluses and successful debt reduction.

"Clinton convinced Democrats in Congress to double down with larger tax increases for wealthy people, raised the corporate tax rate, increased Medicare taxes for wealthy people, and hiked the federal gasoline tax," Clinton's economic adviser Dr. Robert J. Shapiro wrote in August. "It worked: Those changes, along with strong economic growth, increased federal revenues 54 percent after inflation over his two terms. Clinton also convinced Democrats to cut defense spending by 12 percent on a sustained basis, another first."