Donald Trump, the man who once promised to “drain the swamp” in Washington, is now desperately clinging to the murky depths of presidential immunity to hide his face from the consequences of his involvement in the Capitol riot.
In a series of unhinged Truth Social posts that read like the fever dreams of a toddler denied his favorite toy, Trump, in his galaxy brain logic, has made it abundantly clear that he believes the presidency is nothing more than a “crime coupon” – a free pass to break the law without consequence.
Perhaps, Trump’s definition of “properly function” includes inciting an insurrection and using the presidency as a personal piggy bank. But who needs ethics when you’ve got a thesaurus full of superlatives to describe your own greatness?
It wouldn’t be the first time a president has claimed to be the master of the lexicon while simultaneously butchering the English language. Just ask Richard Nixon, who famously declared, “When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.” The Supreme Court begged to differ in United States vs Nixon (1974), clearly rejecting his claim of presidential privilege.
Anyway, coming back to Trump and his tantrum since his second post takes a more threatening tone.
“If a President does not have Immunity, the Opposing Party, during his/her term in Office, can extort and blackmail the President by saying that, “if you don’t give us everything we want, we will Indict you for things you did while in Office,” even if everything done was totally Legal and Appropriate. That would be the end of the Presidency, and our Country, as we know it, and is just one of the many Traps there would be for a President without Presidential Immunity. Obama, Bush, and soon, Crooked Joe Biden, would all be in BIG TROUBLE.
If a President doesn’t have IMMUNITY, he/she will be nothing more than a “Ceremonial” President, rarely having the courage to do what has to be done for our Country. This is not what the Founders had in mind! Protect Presidential Immunity. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
The lack of self-awareness here is truly staggering. Isn’t that rich coming from the man who literally tried to extort Ukraine into investigating his political rival? Maybe the professional victim hopes that if he screams “WITCH HUNT!” loud enough, we’ll all forget about the trail of other offenses he left in his wake.
Never mind that the Founding Fathers specifically created a system of checks and balances to prevent any one branch of government from running amok. No, in Trump’s mind, the only thing standing between us and total anarchy is the ability of the president to act with complete impunity.
Presidency is not meant to be a get-out-of-jail-free card, no matter how many times you shout “PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!” into the void, Donnie.
Oh, spare us the civics lesson. Alexander Hamilton, in Federalist No. 69, specifically contrasted the powers of the American president with those of the British monarch, stating that the former would be subject to the rule of law, while the latter was essentially above it. So, sorry Trump, but the Founders wouldn’t exactly agree with your definition of “power & prestige” for the role.
“If they take away my presidential immunity, they take away crooked Joe Biden’s presidential immunity.”
Now a classic “I’m rubber, you’re glue” argument that wouldn’t be out of place in a kindergarten playground. I hate to break it to you, Donald, but this isn’t the playground where you can just point fingers and yell “no fair,” putting aside the fact that Biden hasn’t been accused of anything remotely close to the litany of offenses you’re currently facing.
By your reasoning, if a president can’t commit crimes with impunity, then no president should be able to do their job at all. So, if one driver gets a speeding ticket, then all drivers should have their licenses revoked. It’s a ridiculous argument that completely ignores the concept of individual responsibility and accountability. So, just Trump being Trump and his sad attempts to drag others down to his level.
The one “Crooked” here is Trump, and no amount of all-caps tweeting or feeble whataboutism is going to change that. He can continue ranting and raving about how unfair it all is. Keep trying to convince himself and his dwindling base of sycophants that he’s the victim here. But the rest of us are moving on.
The Supreme Court has said that it will make its judgment by mid-June. If Trump truly believes he did nothing wrong, he should have no problem facing the music and letting the legal process play out.
For now, let him throw his toys out of the pram and pound his fists against the floor.
