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Executive Power Is Expensive While Trump abused executive power frequently, don’t be tempted by calls for Biden to take revenge and do the same thing. The short term gains may be enticing, but the longer term costs are much bigger than they might appear to be at first. Trump found out the hard way that pushing for things like the border wall, fights against LGBT rights, and attempts to prop up the failing coal industry alienates reasonable people. It’s easy to say “Trump did it! We can too!”, but don’t forget that was part of his undoing. The worst thing a President Biden could do is use unconstitutional executive orders for something divisive like gun control. Yes, Trump actually did this, because he thought it would make him look good after the Las Vegas shooting, but it divided his own supporters. Loyalists made excuses or claimed it was part of some elaborate game to “beat the libs,” while people who really believed in gun rights deeply lost trust in Trump. Make no mistake, a Democratic president doing this would quickly earn the hostilities of both camps and suffer a deeper cost than Trump did. That’s just one example. There are many other little regulatory things a President Biden could do to put the screws to Republicans, but in most cases it simply isn’t worth it when we need real legislation to get the job done.