Critics of Donald Trump have shared their dismay after he appears to have violated his presidential oath while talking to the press in the Oval office once again.
It comes just months after the POTUS suggested violating the Constitution to remove illegal immigrants without trial, with him stating on Truth Social that 'we cannot give everyone a trial, because to do so would take, without exaggeration, 200 years'.
This week, the president was talking about the situation in Chicago and the threat of deploying the National Guard.
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He has recently used the National Guard in Washington D.C, to tackle what he called 'crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse,' and CNN reports he said Chicago and New York were next.
Trump has faced criticism from representatives in Illinois who responded to his comments about crime in their state, with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker insisting 'there is no emergency... there is no insurrection'.
Trump has responded strongly to the press, hitting back at Pritzker, saying: “You have a guy in Illinois, the governor of Illinois, saying that crime has been much better in Chicago recently and Trump is a dictator.
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“Most people are saying, ‘If you call him a dictator, if he stops crime, he can be whatever he wants’ — I am not a dictator, by the way."
Later, he added he 'would have much more respect for Pritzker' if he approved a National Guard deployment in his state.
It was then that some felt he violated his presidential oath, with the president saying: “Not that I don’t have...the right to do anything I want to do."
“I’m the president of the United States. If I think our country is in danger — and it is in danger in these cities — I can do it," he insisted. “No problem going in and solving, you know, his [Pritzker's] difficulties. But it would be nice if they’d call and they say, ‘Would you do it?’”
Gov. Pritzker replied on social media, saying: “No, Donald. You can’t do whatever you want.”
According to the Harry S. Truman Library, a president cannot make or interpret laws, declare war, decide how federal money will be spent, or choose Cabinet members or Supreme Court Justices without Senate approval.
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The presidential oath says Trump will 'faithfully execute the Office of President' and to 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.'
By saying he has 'the right to do anything I want to do, I'm the President of the United States', it is violating the oath that nobody, including the President, is above the law, and goes against his oath of faithful execution to enforce the laws written by Congress.
Pritzker called a press conference in response, insisting: “There is no emergency in Chicago that calls for armed military intervention. There is no insurrection.”
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“Donald Trump wants to use the military to occupy a US city, punish his dissidents and score political points. If this were happening in any other country, we would have no trouble calling it what it is — a dangerous power grab.”
The senators of Illinois also hit back at the talk of sending in troops.
Dick Durbin said Trump's claims are 'purely political theatre' and echoed Pritzker's words, also calling it 'nothing more than a power grab'.
Meanwhile, Duckworth, who is a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel, called Trump's outburst 'deeply disturbing' and 'un-American'.
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He shared a statement saying it was 'yet another unwarranted, unwanted and unjust move straight out of the authoritarian’s playbook that will only undermine our military’s readiness and ultimately weaken our national security'.
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One person took to X to call Trump's words 'an extraordinary statement that functions as a complete and total repudiation of the US Constitution'.
"The entire document was designed with the specific, singular purpose of preventing any one person from having 'the right to do anything I want'. This isn't an interpretation of presidential power; it's a public declaration of its abolition," they said.
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"Actually, he doesn't. He has specific limits placed on his authority," added another.
"Trump treats the Constitution like a piñata - whacking it until "anything I want" spills out. Chicago's crime plunges 31%, yet he declares martial law lite? Solving nonexistent crises is this admin's only growth industry," added another critic, while one person argued: "Trump is right. As the president he is the commander in chief and can deploy the military anywhere."
"Actually you do not have the right to do anything you want," insisted one poster. "While I support most of your policies, I wish you would rein in the rhetoric and the personal insults. Try being a little more like a statesman.
"You might get some more cooperation from the other side of the aisle."
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Crime
Jen Thomas