After my brother reminded me that on the 4th of July we have a tradition of reading the text of the Declaration of Independence, I went back and did just that. Remember life as a British colony? No one else does either, so it is worth a quick trip back to the reasons why we decided to become our own country and to dissolve our bands with the Government of King George III.

Below is the listing of the grievances of the colonists from the Declaration that were the cause of our war of independence, strangely compared to acts committed by our current President Donald J. Trump. After reading, you can draw your own conclusions. I got the text of the grievances from a translation by the US National Archives.

The column on the right is my evaluation of the extent to which the President has committed similar acts. “Yes” means that broadly he has, otherwise there is a brief explanation of the context. I tried to offer a supportive example or two, but these may not be the only examples. The opinions expressed are strictly my own, and based on nothing more than my reading the news.

King George III	Donald Trump
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.	Yes. Many of his executive orders are clear violations of the Constitution and Federal laws, and his legal staff has refused to obey valid court orders.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.	No examples of this one come to mind with regard to Governors, who would be the State executives. Although, he has effected a similar level of control over the US Congress.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.	Yes, for example, the January 2024 “pocket veto” of the bipartisan bill to remedy problems related to immigration. Legislators who objected were threatened with their jobs.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.	No example of this comes to mind, although his relentless pursuit of his goals, including the use abuse of the legal system, feels a lot like it. See the Abrego Garcia case mentioned earlier.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.	Yes. He has successfully threatened members of Congress with the loss of their positions if they don’t vote for whatever he tells them to. This week’s example is Congressman Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.	Yes, see previous item. For example, he worked with Republicans in Congress to block the appointment of Supreme Court justices who he thought would not vote the way he directed them to.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.	Yes yes! This was a major campaign promise, and he has worked hard (and successfully) to fulfill it since his inauguration.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.	Yes. He was able to get the Supreme Court to grant him immunity from criminal prosecution in his last term, and more recently got them to strip the power of national injunctions from all lower Federal court judges allowing him to implement what would otherwise be illegal executive orders.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.	Yes. A good example is Federal District Judge Aileen Cannon who dismissed what looked like an open-and-shut against him for blocking the return of classified documents after his first term.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.	Yes. DOGE is the obvious example here. Other Federal agencies have been authorized to ‘harass’ the people, most notably ICE.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.	Yes. Sending active military troops to Los Angeles captures the sense of this, although the situation in 1776 was obviously a bit different regarding the standing army.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.	Yes, but. Again, using Federal troops to support ICE raids and dispatching them to LA is not quite what King George did, but it has many parallels.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:	This is a header for the remainder of the items.
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:	Yes. The Executive Order authorizing the nationalization of the National Guard applies to all parts of the country, not just LA.
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:	Yes. Federal ICE agents have been kidnapping Americans, and they are being protected from accountability by the President. His pardons parallel this grievance as they release convicted murderers, often in exchange for money.
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world	Yes. Acknowledging that the trade situation in 1776 was not what it is today, the across-the-board tariffs will have a big negative impact on our trade relationships with virtually every other country.
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:	Yes. The tariffs are a sales tax not imposed by Congress. Also, the recent “BB” bill was rushed through Congress so quickly that even the members who voted for it did not have an opportunity to read it, no less share the implications with the public or with experts, and it imposes significant taxes. The result was that there was not meaningful consent to its terms.
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:	Yes. The case of Abrego Garcia illustrates the fate of hundreds (or thousands) who have been, and are being, deprived of their due process rights to a trial before a court. The pardons of violent criminals also deprives the victims of a trial by jury of the accused.
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:	Yes. This practice, which is ongoing today, is horrendous. People whose skin are not white are being sent to terrorist prisons and to countries with abusive governments and gangs. They are being accused of crimes for which there is no evidence and for which they are not permitted to defend themselves.
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:	I am not aware of a parallel to Trump actions on this one.
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:	Yes. The President has turned Congress into an advisory board with no independent power, is in the process of replacing Federal employees with political acolytes whose goal is to be wholly dependent on the whims of the President even where these entities were created by Congress, and he has significantly compromised the court system.
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.	I am not aware of a parallel to Trump actions on this one.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.	Yes. Especially for any non-white American, he has suspended the rule of law and appears to be waging war against Americans.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.	To the extent that he is attempting to destroy the lives of those who are immigrants or whom he believes are political opponents, then yes.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.	This refers to King George bringing 30,000 German (Hessian) soldiers into the colonies to fight for England during the Revolutionary war. I don’t think there is a current parallel.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.	This went on after the end of the Revolutionary war, and we fought the War of 1812 to put it to rest. I do not see a parallel.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.	Yes. The January 6 mob that attacked the Capitol is an example, although it did not involve “Indian Savages”. Think Proud Boys.

Therefore by my count 23 of the 27 grievances represent acts by King George III that are being committed by our current President. A couple were gray areas. What does this mean? Is it ok that our President has not committed all of the acts that triggered the colonists to start the Revolutionary war?