China does not have separation of powers. But that did not stop Chinese Supreme People’s Court Judge He Fan from calling President Donald Trump an “enemy of the rule of law.” He said Trump should not have criticized federal Judge James Robart for temporarily blocking his executive order on immigration. Under the U.S. system of separation of powers, a president should accept his loss silently and not attack the judge who ruled against him, He wrote. What is the separation of powers? The U.S. Constitution set up three separate but equal branches of government: the legislative branch, or Congress, makes the law; the executive, led by the president, executes the law; and the judicial, or courts, interprets the law. The idea is to divide power so each branch of government has its own powers and limits.