Tag: Trump wants to be a dictator

HOUSE MEMBERS CHALLENGE GOP LAWMAKERS TO VOTE AGAINST RESOLUTION THAT AFFIRMS PRESIDENTS DON’T HAVE ‘TOTAL AUTHORITY’

Several lawmakers in the House of Representatives introduced legislation Tuesday offering a direct rebuke of President Donald Trump’s claim his “authority is total” during a Coronavirus Task Force press briefing hours earlier.

New Jersey congressman Tom Malinowski joined Minnesota Democrat Dean Phillips and Michigan Independent Justin Amash in filing the House Resolution that affirms the chamber’s members are in agreement “the president remains limited by the Constitution and laws of the United States.” The House resolution responds to Trump’s remarks Monday declaring he has “total” authority over state governors to reopen the economy when he decides to pull back on weeks of federal government social distancing guidelines. The president did not offer any details about how he plans to assert his power given the states’ rights restrictions present in the 10th Amendment of the Constitution.

And in a challenge to the president’s most ardent Republican Party supporters in Congress, the House members on Tuesday introduced a single-sentence resolution reaffirming that Trump, or any future U.S. president, does not have total authority over the states. Malinowski remarked in a tweet: “I’m curious if anyone will object” to a resolution which simply affirms what’s written in the Constitution. Continue reading.

On The Trail: Governors rebuke Trump for claiming ‘total’ authority

The Hill logoA looming showdown between President Trump’s eagerness to revive a cratering economy and governors facing a deadly pandemic is leading to what could become the most contentious standoff between state and federal governments since the civil rights era.

For almost 250 years, the competing interests of states and the U.S. government have undergirded the most divisive debates in American history.

Now, as governors and the Trump administration grapple with the combined threats of a fast-moving outbreak that has already claimed tens of thousands of American lives and an economic catastrophe that has cost tens of millions of jobs, state leaders are increasingly at odds with President Trump over how to move through a rapidly evolving crisis. Continue reading.

Trump says his ‘authority is total.’ Constitutional experts have ‘no idea’ where he got that.

Washington Post logoWhen President Trump was asked during Monday’s news briefing what authority he has to reopen the country, he didn’t hesitate to answer. “I have the ultimate authority,” the president responded, cutting off the reporter who was speaking.

Trump later clarified his position further, telling reporters, “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.”

The local leaders, Trump said, “can’t do anything without the approval of the president of the United States.” Continue reading.

Investigative journalist reveals how ‘wannabe dictator’ Trump just asserted unlimited presidential power

AlterNet logoA pair of Donald Trump tweets Monday show beyond all doubt that he has no idea what’s in our Constitution and fashions himself a Sun King on the make, a wannabe dictator.

Trump asserted, wrongly, last July that thanks to our Constitution  “I have an Article II, where I have to the right to do whatever I want as president.”

He has said that again and again as this video compilation shows. Continue reading.

The Me President: Trump uses pandemic briefing to focus on himself

NOTE:  This is a free article from The Washington Post.

Washington Post logoThe Debrief: An occasional series offering a reporter’s insights

President Trump stepped to the lectern Monday on a day when the coronavirus death toll in the United States ticked up past 23,000. He addressed the nation at a time when unemployment claims have shot past 15 million and lines at food banks stretch toward the horizon.

Yet in the middle of this deadly pandemic that shows no obvious signs of abating, the president made clear that the paramount concern for Trump is Trump — his self-image, his media coverage, his supplicants and his opponents, both real and imagined.

“Everything we did was right,” Trump said, during a sometimes hostile 2½ -hour news conference in which he offered a live version of an enemies list, brooking no criticism and repeatedly snapping at reporters who dared to challenge his version of events. Continue reading.

Trump claims he, not governors, has authority on opening state economies

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Monday claimed that he, not state governors, has the ultimate authority to loosen restrictions on states as the coronavirus outbreak eases, an assertion disputed by legal experts.

“For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect,” Trump tweeted Monday morning.

“It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons. With that being said, the Administration and I are working closely with the Governors, and this will continue,” Trump continued. “A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!” Continue reading.

Trump claims he, not governors, has authority on opening state economies

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Monday claimed that he, not state governors, has the ultimate authority to loosen restrictions on states as the coronavirus outbreak eases, an assertion disputed by legal experts.

“For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect,” Trump tweeted Monday morning.

“It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons. With that being said, the Administration and I are working closely with the Governors, and this will continue,” Trump continued. “A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!” Continue reading.

Former Federal Ethics Chief Warns Of Trump’s ‘Authoritarian Coup’

When Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, he vowed to “drain the swamp” if elected — which was his way of promising to clean up the political environment in Washington, D.C. and make the federal government more accountable. But former ethics official Walter Shaub, in an op-ed for USA Today, argues that Trump’s presidency has been a nonstop attack on accountability.

Shaub served as director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics from 2013-2017. He resigned in the middle of Trump’s first year in office in protest of the White House’s complete disregard for ethics rules. And in his new op-ed, Shaub details some of the many ways in which accountability has been under attack during Trump’s presidency — from his “assault on inspectors general” to “open presidential profiteering” to the firing of officials who stood up to him, including former FBI Director James Comey and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“The Sessions firing should have triggered Trump’s removal from office,” Shaub asserts, “but wild-eyed senators were hot on the trail of confirming conservative judges.” Continue reading.

How 5 countries — including the US — are abusing the coronavirus crisis to undermine democracy

AlterNet logoEditor’s note: Emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic set the conditions for political leaders to use expansive powers. They are, as a result, a test of the government’s commitment to human rights and civil liberties.

Most of the travel bans, stay-at-home orders and business closures taking effect worldwide follow health experts’ advice on curbing the spread of this highly infectious disease. But other restrictions governments say are meant to protect people seem designed to curtail human rights, suppress dissent and consolidate authoritarian power.

We asked political scientists for a non-exhaustive list of where they’re watching the state of democracy.

John Shattuck, Tufts University

The global pandemic claimed its first democracy on March 30 when Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban won approval from his parliament to rule Hungary indefinitely by decree, bypassing lawmakers. Continue reading.

President tightens grip on federal watchdogs

The Hill logoPresident Trump is tightening his grip on federal watchdogs, even as the country reels from the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump has gone on the offensive over the past few days, suddenly removing or publicly berating three inspectors general. Trump’s actions and words have led to criticism from Democrats and others that he is purging officials whose chief responsibility is to protect the integrity of government institutions.

Acting Pentagon Inspector General Glenn Fine, who just a week ago was charged with overseeing the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package, was abruptly removed and replaced this week. Continue reading.