Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) listens as President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Eric Lee/The New York Times) By JAMELLE BOUIE You can understand the Trump administration as, in its essence, a cargo cult devoted to the illiberal tradition in American politics. At every turn, it seeks to instantiate a society where, as historian Steven Hahn writes, “rights-bearing may be defined or…
