Trump knows his re-election chances are in trouble. This week in a transparent move to pander to his conservative religious base, he threatened to demand governor’s allow churches to re-open. Because he was politically pressured, he added in his demand all houses of worship must be allowed to fully re-open. He promised to overrule the governor’s more restrictive positions on this issue. It is concerning and embarrassing to hear the President of the United States make statements that are clearly not constitutionally correct.
In June of 2017, then House of Representative Speaker Paul Ryan said, “He is new at government, he is learning as he goes.” Yikes! It is possible for a novice president to maintain the security and safety of the country if they were mentally healthy. However, being narcissistic, decisive, rigid, impulsive, insecure, and with a history of unlawful and immoral behaviors combined with being “new at government” has proven with Donald Trump to be a recipe for disaster. The alienation of allies, pulling out of global agreements related to nuclear, environmental, health, and economic issues, aligning with adversaries, attacking the credibility of the judiciary and legislative branches, and the free press puts into question whether we have a patriot or a traitor in the White House. Some of the actions he has taken and the rhetoric he spreads puts into question whether he understands and respects what American really stands for.
Members of the two parties have always disagreed, but they have strived for bipartisanship where possible for the good of the country. Trump, after all his years on the job, keeps showing he still hasn’t mastered the basics taught in an entry-level government class. For example, when he exalts the importance of protecting 2nd Amendment Rights, religious freedoms, and freedom of speech, he acts if the protection of these rights under the Constitution is untouchable. Yet, other liberties which he and his base are not in support of are viewed as negotiable.
Examples of his hypocrisy regarding the protections in the Bill of Rights are:
In Amendment 1– Trump is big on freedom of speech and he exercises this freedom every day with his divisive, false rhetoric on Twitter. However, when the press reports something he does not like or agree with, he calls them the “enemy of the state.” He has called for specific news outlets to be silenced based on how they report on him, his Administration, and policies. These actions against the press are consistent with Putin, Kim Jong Un, and other dictators and authoritarians position on a free press.
Amendment IV– He agrees with a person’s rights against unreasonable search and seizure ( of course he does, he has spent extensive time in the courts hiding his taxes, financial records, medical records, school records), yet when fighting an opponent or perceived enemy, he makes pleas for legal intervention to reduce their rights under the Fourth Amendment.
Amendment V– His disrespect for the Grand Jury provision in this Amendment has been pervasive. Due to the pattern of defying the rule of law and constitutional norms, he and many of his appointed officials have been subject to this Grand Jury provision in the Bill of Rights. Although he consistently resisted testifying to defend himself in the Mueller Investigation, consistent with the provision in Amendment V to the right not to be compelled to testify against yourself, he routinely called for Democrats and the Republicans investigating him to be forced to testify to defend themselves against his false allegations. He has also used executive privilege to resist cooperation with Grand Jury subpoenas as put forth by this amendment.
Amendment X – Trump has wrongly proclaimed that Article II of the Constitution gives him the right to do “anything he wants.” However, the Tenth Amendment clearly gives the states the power to govern themselves on issues that are not prohibited in the Constitution or delegated, specifically to the United States government. Trump clearly does not comprehend well enough to have known this amendment makes his statement about Article II completely wrong.
All former presidents have understood the basics of the Bill of Rights. Any high school senior understands them as well. Are the mistakes Trump makes when discussing the rights given in our Constitution based on not having read the document, not comprehending it, or disrespecting it and wanting to transform our democracy into an autocracy?. Does this explain why he admires Putin and other authoritarians? Many Americans in support of Trump are revealing their lack of preparedness to be voters who know how to preserve democracy. This is not a partisan issue. Trump has succeeded with his base to turn everything into a Republican vs. Democrat issue. That is part of how he preserves their view of him as their savior from the Democrats.
However, if you asked most never-Trumpers if they see other Republicans such as former Governor of Ohio John Kasich or Senator Mitt Romney as threats to our democracy, they would answer NO! It is the pathological nature of Trump’s character and incompetence that has so many Republicans and Democrats joining the movement to remove Trump from office.
