Sen. King gives urgent warning on 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s ride

On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere famously rode through the streets of Massachusetts to warn residents about the approach of British troops, which culminated in the Battle of Lexington and Concord that kicked off America’s war for independence. 

Now, 250 years later, Sen. Angus King is giving his own warning over what he sees as the imminent collapse of American democracy under President Donald Trump. 

In an interview with writer, historian and Lincoln County resident Heather Cox Richardson, Maine’s independent senator discussed why this inflection point in American history is so resonant today.

“I believe we are in one of the most dangerous places our country has been in since the founding, because what is happening before our eyes is the collapse of the constitutional structure that the framers designed to protect us from the inevitable abuse that comes from the concentration of power,” King said, explaining that the U.S. Constitution purposefully divided power up between the Legislature — or Congress — the President and the courts. 

“But here’s what’s happening right now,” he said, “is that the executive branch is seizing more and more power.” 

He said “there are two levels of things going on here: one is bad and the other is dangerous. There are bad things like what [the Department of Government Efficiency] is doing and messing around with Social Security and this sending people to El Salvador. That’s really bad, but what’s dangerous is the way it’s being done, by essentially violating the plain intent of the Constitution, by having the President be the legislator and the executive at the same time, that’s a recipe for the loss of our freedom.”

And for people who are “cheering on his agenda” and saying, “Well, we don’t care that he’s doing all this unconstitutional stuff,” King said, “They’re going to care because eventually the Eye of Sauron is going to turn on them,” referencing the evil, all-powerful symbol in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.”

And while the courts are “doing pretty well so far” in pushing back, King repeatedly expressed alarm over what he sees as Congress’ abdication of its duty and the complicity of his Republican colleagues.

“What we have is a test between institutional loyalty, constitutional loyalty, and party loyalty. And so my Republican colleagues — who I’m doing everything I can to sort of peel off to say, ‘Enough is enough’ — so far, haven’t been willing to take that step,” he said. “They’re in control of the Senate, they’re in control of the House, and they’re looking at getting their tax bill through and getting their budget bill through, rather than what’s happening to the structure of our government in the process.”

He also said that he believes many Republicans are not speaking up because of Trump’s threat to challenge dissenters in upcoming elections by running primary opponents financed by billionaire advisor Elon Musk.

King also spoke about the frustration among voters, acknowledging the most frequent question he hears is, “I’m mad as hell. What can I do?’”

“They can get together, they can talk to each other, they can reach out to their neighbors,” King said. “They can participate in peaceful demonstrations that indicate to people like me that people want change, that they’re concerned…They also can communicate to our offices.”

He said American people actually have a lot of power and that members of Congress are influenced when they hear stories from constituents about how Trump’s actions are having a real negative impact on their lives — such as someone whose Social Security check didn’t come or a veteran unable to get a medical appointment.

“Believe it or not, anecdotes matter,” King said, “and so when people are in touch with us, if they are specific about what’s going on and what’s affecting them in their real life, that’s the kind of thing that breaks through with members of Congress — that their constituents are being hurt — and that’s one of the reasons I think we may see some progress on this over the next two or three weeks, because the damage that’s being done is just starting to manifest itself out in the communities.”

But, King acknowledged, he is “an optimist.”

As for Paul Revere, Maine is celebrating his midnight ride with a series of events that will feature the lighting of lanterns and lighthouses throughout the state. Organized by the Maine Semiquincentennial Commission, several of the ceremonies will include the reading of the famous 1861 poem by Portland native Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” which concludes: