President Donald Trump declares himself ‘king’

• Donald Trump declared himself “king” after his administration reduced tolls for Manhattan drivers to fund the city’s aging mass transit system.

• He declared that congestion pricing is dead and that Manhattan and New York are saved.

Days after implying that he operates above the law, Donald Trump proclaimed himself “king” in response to his administration’s efforts to eliminate new tolls for drivers in Manhattan, intended to fund the city’s deteriorating mass transit system.

“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD,”  he announced on Truth Social on Wednesday. “Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”

The White House’s X account subsequently disseminated his statement alongside a satirical cover of Time magazine, depicting the president adorned with a crown and the phrase “long live the king.” Additionally, White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich shared an AI-generated image of the president in a crown and regal cape.

In a letter addressed to New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy articulated the president’s opposition to the unprecedented congestion pricing initiative, asserting that federal officials would engage with the state regarding the “orderly cessation of toll operations.”

Duffy characterized the program as “backwards and unfair” and a “slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners.”

“Public transit is the lifeblood of New York City and critical to our economic future — as a New Yorker, like President Trump, knows very well,” Hochul retorted.

Since the program’s implementation last month, vehicle congestion in New York has “dropped dramatically and commuters are getting to work faster than ever,” she noted. “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king,” Hochul said. “We’ll see you in court.”

Trump’s remarks follow his assertion that “he who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” a sentiment also echoed by White House X accounts, seemingly endorsing the notion that the president of the United States is incapable of breaking any law.