(Trump speaks during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus on April 13, 2020, in Washington, DC. Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images.) Trump told reporters at Monday’s press conference that he not only has the complete authority to re-open the country, but that his authority over local leaders is “ultimate” and granted by the U.S. Constitution. Trump further clarified his position by saying, “When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total and that’s the way it’s got to be. It’s total. The governors know that. [Local leaders] can’t do anything without the approval of the president of the United States.”
What I am concerned about is that this matter could well end up before the Supreme Court. (I am pretty sure, BTW, that behind this assertion is William Barr, who's been claiming broad presidential powers for a long time.) My thinking is that the governors could well sue to prevent this illegal assertion of power; this is clearly a basic Constitutional issue. The Court, as it is constituted now, is very likely to agree with any assertion of broad presidential power and if it did this, we are no longer governed by a Constitution. We are, legally, an authoritarian regime. The fallout from such a decision, at the street level, is likely violence and chaos because the trumputin cult will exert their leader's power against whomever they dislike, such as the driver with the Biden sticker on the window.
Okay, I am taking this supposition to an extreme but, given the last three-plus years of violations of the Constitution, accepted mores and behavior by this president*, and his multiple blatant assertions of absolute power yesterday, I don't think I am being hysterical in imagining this.
This is a precursor to November. He wants to be dictator and because the GOP is silent, really scares me. This is beyond insane. He will try to destroy an already trampled on Constitution. I have read people saying the Constitution is the law, he can not override it. He is vile and evil enough to try. He has divided this country into 3 countries, the East Coast, West Coast
and then the middle states. Kind of a Civil War redux. November is 200(ish) days away. Yes, I'm scared. I am really scared of what this madman may do!
Yes, I am 'afraid' too.. but I always like to take the view that we will --I KNOW we will have something happen that will take this Country back to the people. The BIG thing here is MoscowMitch is enabling all of this behavior and for some rea$on the entire GOP is lacking a spine to speak up for the Country and Constitution that they swore to uphold. SOMETHING needs to be done, instead of hashing it over , but what...and why are the Democrats, who are also paid by US; WE THE PEOPLE, not getting some action going ? Waiting until November is a long few months away and being what a sh*t show this has been the last three years a lot can occur between here and November!
Amee I hope you are recovering & feeling much better. Thank you for writing this. Trump is power hungry & GOP are riding his coattails in hopes his absolute power declaration rubs off to them. Terrifying
Yesterday’s presser was beyond the worst yet. The video was him using our tax payer $ to do a campaign ad, which is illegal, but the GOP could care less about his continued illegalities & just continues to aid & abet. Now, he is forgetting about the 10th Amendment, since he doesn’t know anything about the Constitution & it’s doubtful he can read, let alone, actually read the Constitution. Now he believes he has “absolute authority” - I think we should get #AbsoluteMoron tending on Twitter.
For everyone that can vote by mail, please get your request for a ballot now. For those that are able to do absentee ballots, again, please do so now. Luckily, I’m a New Yorker & already have an absentee ballot due to disability but if you live in NY, Governor Cuomo is allowing vote by mail, so please get your ballots. If we end up with 4 more years of this unstable, unhinged, #AbsoluteMoron we will never be rid of this virus. Every American, regardless of whether they vote red or blue, will end up being a casualty to this virus or will know someone that is. The law doesn’t apply to him, since Moscow Mitch & his GOP henchmen allow him to break laws continuously, it’s truly up to us to get rid of him, by voting him out. Be safe, stay home if you can, and find out if you can vote by mail in your state. 💙
The same sycophants screaming that the POTUS does have absolute power, were the same one screaming about the ACA forcing them to buy Health Insurance... that they now so desperately need.
Don't forget the statue of limitations on crimes outlined in the Mueller report, if he gets re-elected he can't be charged, if he loses, he can be charged. He'll do anything to stay out of trouble
You are correct in everything you write here.
What I am concerned about is that this matter could well end up before the Supreme Court. (I am pretty sure, BTW, that behind this assertion is William Barr, who's been claiming broad presidential powers for a long time.) My thinking is that the governors could well sue to prevent this illegal assertion of power; this is clearly a basic Constitutional issue. The Court, as it is constituted now, is very likely to agree with any assertion of broad presidential power and if it did this, we are no longer governed by a Constitution. We are, legally, an authoritarian regime. The fallout from such a decision, at the street level, is likely violence and chaos because the trumputin cult will exert their leader's power against whomever they dislike, such as the driver with the Biden sticker on the window.
Okay, I am taking this supposition to an extreme but, given the last three-plus years of violations of the Constitution, accepted mores and behavior by this president*, and his multiple blatant assertions of absolute power yesterday, I don't think I am being hysterical in imagining this.
As others have pointed out, whatever doubts we had about his desire to be a dictator have now been dispelled.
This is a precursor to November. He wants to be dictator and because the GOP is silent, really scares me. This is beyond insane. He will try to destroy an already trampled on Constitution. I have read people saying the Constitution is the law, he can not override it. He is vile and evil enough to try. He has divided this country into 3 countries, the East Coast, West Coast
and then the middle states. Kind of a Civil War redux. November is 200(ish) days away. Yes, I'm scared. I am really scared of what this madman may do!
Yes, I am 'afraid' too.. but I always like to take the view that we will --I KNOW we will have something happen that will take this Country back to the people. The BIG thing here is MoscowMitch is enabling all of this behavior and for some rea$on the entire GOP is lacking a spine to speak up for the Country and Constitution that they swore to uphold. SOMETHING needs to be done, instead of hashing it over , but what...and why are the Democrats, who are also paid by US; WE THE PEOPLE, not getting some action going ? Waiting until November is a long few months away and being what a sh*t show this has been the last three years a lot can occur between here and November!
Amee I hope you are recovering & feeling much better. Thank you for writing this. Trump is power hungry & GOP are riding his coattails in hopes his absolute power declaration rubs off to them. Terrifying
Nice job Amee clear as bell
Yesterday’s presser was beyond the worst yet. The video was him using our tax payer $ to do a campaign ad, which is illegal, but the GOP could care less about his continued illegalities & just continues to aid & abet. Now, he is forgetting about the 10th Amendment, since he doesn’t know anything about the Constitution & it’s doubtful he can read, let alone, actually read the Constitution. Now he believes he has “absolute authority” - I think we should get #AbsoluteMoron tending on Twitter.
For everyone that can vote by mail, please get your request for a ballot now. For those that are able to do absentee ballots, again, please do so now. Luckily, I’m a New Yorker & already have an absentee ballot due to disability but if you live in NY, Governor Cuomo is allowing vote by mail, so please get your ballots. If we end up with 4 more years of this unstable, unhinged, #AbsoluteMoron we will never be rid of this virus. Every American, regardless of whether they vote red or blue, will end up being a casualty to this virus or will know someone that is. The law doesn’t apply to him, since Moscow Mitch & his GOP henchmen allow him to break laws continuously, it’s truly up to us to get rid of him, by voting him out. Be safe, stay home if you can, and find out if you can vote by mail in your state. 💙
The same sycophants screaming that the POTUS does have absolute power, were the same one screaming about the ACA forcing them to buy Health Insurance... that they now so desperately need.
Don't forget the statue of limitations on crimes outlined in the Mueller report, if he gets re-elected he can't be charged, if he loses, he can be charged. He'll do anything to stay out of trouble
Where were Trump's "absolute" powers when he said he couldn't close states, that was up to Governor's, but now he can make them open?
Only in Trump land!