Trump doesn't understand how the Constitution works
The U.S. Constitution is not a suggestion. It is the most sacred document in our country's history.
Under the government it created, 12,583 people have served in Congress, 116 justices have been appointed to the Supreme Court's bench and 45 presidents have led the executive branch.
Now one of those presidents is seeking to undermine it. Whether Donald Trump is deporting legal residents in defiance of the courts, freezing federal grants in defiance of Congress, attempting to unilaterally dismantle its amendments, or calling for its termination altogether, the current president seems to think he rules the Constitution, and not the other way around.
The latest case involves a 20-year-old Venezuelan identified in court papers only as Cristian, who was flown to El Salvador in March despite an earlier court order barring him from being deported.
The president is sworn to uphold the Constitution, not undermine it. He can't even change it if he wants, as the president has no specific constitutional role in the process for amending the Constitution.
Article V outlines two methods, both of which have a high bar. Under the first, a proposal passed by a two-thirds vote of both the House and the Senate is then ratified by two-thirds of state legislatures. In the second, two-thirds of state legislatures can call for a new constitutional convention — something that has never happened in our history. In neither case is the president even consulted.
This is why our government has endured for more than two centuries. The founders designed it to be impervious to the whims of one man, but flexible enough to adapt with the times.
I'm concerned that some Americans think Trump's word alone can rewrite our supreme governing document. That is not the case, nor should it be — no matter what Trump and his allies tell you.
President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation is rightly studied in schools to this day. But his words aren't what abolished slavery. The 13th Amendment did that.
The Seneca Falls Convention was monumental. But that's not what ensured that millions of women could cast a ballot in the last election. The 19th Amendment did that.
And it's not Donald Trump's or DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's words that determine who is entitled to due process under the law. Those are the Fifth and 14th Amendments.
The United States Constitution is not a gaudy skyscraper on Fifth Avenue, with the name "TRUMP" in gold letters. Quite the opposite: It says 'WE THE PEOPLE.'
This is the moment we the people must stand up. If the rest of Trump's term continues on this path, the document he swore twice to protect and defend will be nothing more than faded paper and the 27 amendments forged over centuries to protect us will fade right along with it.
For more thought-provoking insights from Michael Steele, Alicia Menendez and Symone Sanders-Townsend, watch 'The Weeknight' every Monday-Friday at 7 p.m. ET starting May 5th on MSNBC.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
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5 minutes ago
- Fox News
Merz says US in 'strong position' to stop Putin, Trump says 'let them fight for a little while'
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8 minutes ago
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Thomas Jefferson's first draft of the Declaration of Independence read: 'We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable . . . ' It was supposedly Benjamin Franklin who suggested instead announcing the truths to be 'self-evident,' as though they were fundamental mathematical axioms providing an incontestable foundation for the new republic. The idea of self-evident truths goes all the way back to Euclid's 'Elements' (ca. 300 B.C.), which depends on a handful of axioms—things that must be granted true at the outset, such as that one can draw a straight line between any two points on a plane. From such assumptions Euclid went on to show, for example, that there are infinitely many prime numbers, and that the angles at the base of an isosceles triangle are equal. If the axioms are true, and the subsequent reasoning is sound, then the conclusion is irrefutable. What we now have is a proof: something we can know for sure. Adam Kucharski, a professor of epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, takes the reader on a fascinating tour of the history of what has counted as proof. Today, for example, we have computerized proofs by exhaustion, in which machines chew through examples so numerous that they could never be checked by humans. The author sketches the development of ever-more-rarefied mathematics, from calculus to the mind-bending work on different kinds of infinity by the Russian-German sage Georg Cantor, who proved that natural integers (1,2,3 . . . ) are somehow not more numerous than even numbers (2,4,6 . . .), even though the former set includes all the elements of the latter set, in addition to the one that contains all odd numbers. My favorite example is the Banach-Tarski paradox, which proves that you can disassemble a single sphere and reconstitute it into two spheres of identical size. Climbing the ladder of proof, we can enter a wild realm where intuitions break down completely. But proof, strictly understood, is only half the story here. Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Kucharski relates, taught himself to derive Euclid's proofs to give himself an argumentative edge in the courtroom and in Congress. Yet politics is messier than geometry; and so the dream of perfectly logical policymaking, immune to quibble, remains out of reach. What should we do, then, when a mathematical proof of truth is unavailable, but we must nonetheless act?
CNN
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Update: Date: Title: Republican senators downplay Musk pressure campaign Content: Republicans senators are so far brushing off Elon Musk's call to his massive social media following to turn up the heat on Republican elected officials. 'I don't know,' GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told CNN when asked if his office was receiving more pressure. 'Nobody is calling me.' GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio also said that he has not received an uptick of constituent calls, telling CNN, 'No. I mean, honestly, as you know, most normal people don't watch the inconsistencies of how the sausage is made.' He said that usually those that do call have only seen 'misinformation' about the bill. 'There's a difference in mandatory spending and discretionary spending. So once we explain to them what we're actually doing, they buy into the whole process.' Asked about Musk's influence and platform, and how that could affect support for Trump's agenda, Moreno shot back: 'President Trump has the biggest platform on earth, and the platform that he's advocating for is to prevent that $4 trillion tax increase, fund our military, secure our border and strengthen Medicaid.' GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said 'nah' when asked if he felt like he was under more of a spotlight since Musk made a direct ask to his followers to call elected officials. 'The deal is not done. We got three more weeks. And it will change many times between now and three weeks from now,' Tuberville said. GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who has been publicly opposing the legislation, said: 'I'll say in my office, most of the calls, the vast majority, are voting no. But my guess is that's not coming from either my supporters or President Trump's supporters. I take that seriously. I look at it.' Update: Date: Title: Trump is the "key person" to end war in Ukraine, says German chancellor Content: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that President Donald Trump is the 'key person' to bring about an end to the war in Ukraine 'by putting pressure on Russia.' 'We both agree on this war and how terrible this war is going on, and we are both looking for ways to stop it very soon. And I told the president … he is the key person in the world who can really do that now by putting pressure on Russia,' Merz said. The German leader reiterated his country's steadfast commitment to Ukraine, adding that the horrific images from the battlefield are caused by 'Russian weapons against Ukraine.' 'Ukraine is only targeting military targets, not civilians, not energy infrastructure. So this is the difference, and that's the reason why we are trying to do more on Russia,' Merz added. Update: Date: Title: Elon Musk live-posts responses to Trump during bilateral meeting Content: In a stunning real-time response on X, Elon Musk responded to President Donald Trump's comments about him after the tech billionaire slammed his signature legislation. Musk, until recently a White House special employee who oversaw the administration's cost-cutting efforts, denied Trump's claim that the Tesla CEO knew the inner workings of the president's so-called 'big beautiful bill.' Musk also countered that the elimination of America's electric vehicle tax incentives has nothing to do with his opposition to the massive domestic policy bill. 'False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!' Musk wrote. 'Whatever. Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill,' Musk said in a separate post. 'In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this! Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.' Update: Date: Title: Trump sidesteps on Russia sanctions and compares Ukraine war to children's fight Content: President Donald Trump declined to offer specifics on sanctions on Russia during a meeting with German Chancellor Merz in the Oval Office. 'It's in my brain, the deadline, when I see the moment where it's not going to stop,' Trump said, and then looked on to Merz, saying, 'I'm sure you're going to do the same thing.' Trump then added, 'we'll be very, very, very tough,' when pressed about sanctions on Russia. 'And it could be on both countries to be honest. You know, it takes two to tango,' Trump said. Without directly addressing whether he would impose Russian sanctions, the president described a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which he said he gave an analogy likening the war to a playground fight. 'Sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy. They hate each other, and they're fighting in a park, and you try and pull them apart. They don't want to be pulled, sometimes you're better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart.' Trump continued: 'And I gave that analogy to Putin yesterday, I said, president, maybe you're going to have to keep fighting and suffering a lot, because both sides are suffering before you pull them apart, before they're able to be pulled apart.' Update: Date: Title: Trump says US will 'hopefully' have a deal with EU Content: President Donald Trump on Thursday struck a positive tone on a potential trade deal with the European Union during a meeting at the White House with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. 'We'll have a good trade deal,' Trump said. 'I guess that will be mostly determined by the European Union, but you're a very big part of that, so you'll be involved,' Trump said to Merz. Trump's major tariffs on the EU, including a threatened 50% tariff, have been delayed until July 9. Germany is still impacted by tariffs including Trump's 25% tariff on autos, which is in effect. The president said that 'hopefully' there will be a trade deal, or the United States will 'do the tariffs.' 'I mean, I'm okay with the tariffs, or we make a deal with the trade, and I guess that's what we're discussing,' he said. Trump's optimistic remarks came hours after the president separately spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a phone call. Investors and economists have been on edge about the impact of the president's trade war. Wall Street in recent weeks has started to bet that Trump will back down on his most aggressive trade war threats. That's spawned the phrase TACO trade, which stands for Trump Always Chickens Out. US stocks were in the green during the meeting between Trump and Merz. The Dow rose 130 points, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 was also up 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.5%. Update: Date: Title: Trump says he's "very disappointed" in Musk, confirming their deteriorating relationship Content: President Donald Trump appeared to confirm the deterioration of his relationship with Elon Musk, saying he was 'very disappointed' in the tech billionaire, who exited his top advisory role at the White House and subsequently railed against the president's sweeping tax and spending package. 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office less than one week after the two exchanged effusive praise on Musk's last day. Since then, Musk has strongly criticized what Trump calls his 'Big, Beautiful Bill' that has passed the House and faces an uncertain path forward in the Senate, calling the bill, which is a major Trump priority, a 'disgusting abomination.' Trump and Musk have not spoken since Musk lashed out at the legislation, a source familiar with the dynamic told CNN. 'He knew every aspect of this bill. He knew it better than almost anybody, and he never had a problem until right after he left,' Trump said. The president predicted that though Musk had not personally attacked him, he could soon. 'I'm sure that'll be next. But I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot,' Trump said. Kristen Holmes and Hadas Gold contributed to this post. Update: Date: Title: Trump says he and Xi 'straightened out complexity' of trade deal in phone call Content: President Donald Trump said Thursday that trade talks with China remain on track and that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping 'straightened out any complexity' after a long-awaited phone call earlier in the day. 'We had a very good talk, and we've straightened out any complexity. This is very complex stuff, and we straightened it out,' Trump said from the Oval Office after welcoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to the White House. 'I think we're in very good shape with China and the trade deal,' Trump said. 'We're going to just make sure that everybody understands what the deal is.' The president added that he expected to be traveling to China at some point. 'By the way, he invited me to China, and I invited him here. We both accepted. So I'll be going there with the first lady at a certain point, and he'll be coming here, hopefully, with the first lady of China.' Update: Date: Title: Trump explains why Egypt not part of travel ban after Egyptian national's antisemitic attack in Boulder Content: President Donald Trump said Thursday that Egypt was not included in the list of countries subject to a new travel ban because he believes the country '(has) things under control.' CNN previously reported that Trump made the final decision to sign the proclamation after the antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado. The suspect in the attack was an Egyptian national. Asked why Egypt was not one of the banned countries unveiled on Wednesday, Trump said, 'Egypt has been a country that we deal with very closely. They have things under control. The countries that we have don't have things under control.' The travel ban, Trump added, 'can't come soon enough. Frankly, we want to keep bad people out of our country. The Biden administration allowed some horrendous people, and we're getting them out one by one, we're not stopping until we get them out.' The countries included, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said Wednesday, 'include places that lack proper vetting, exhibit high visa overstay rates, or fail to share identity and threat information.' Update: Date: Title: Trump says he thinks Harvard is 'starting to behave' Content: President Donald Trump said Thursday he thinks Harvard is 'starting to behave,' suggesting the university would be handing over a list of international students attending the school. 'Harvard didn't want to give us that list. They're going to be giving us the list now. I think they're starting to behave, actually, if you want to know the truth,' he told reporters in the Oval Office while meeting with German leader Friedrich Merz. On Wednesday, Trump signed a proclamation suspending international visas for new students at Harvard University. The proclamation temporarily blocks the entry of nearly all new international Harvard students under visas most use to study at US universities or participate in academic exchange programs. Trump on Thursday was asked if he would allow Chinese students into US universities after speaking with Chinese leader Xi Jinping earlier in the day. 'Chinese students are coming. No problem. It's an honor to have them, frankly. We want to have foreign students but we want them to be checked, you know. In the case of Harvard and Columbia and others – all we want to do is see their list. There's no problem with that,' the president said. Update: Date: Title: NOW: Trump greets German chancellor at White House Content: President Donald Trump is meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House. It's the first time the two are meeting in-person and comes amid a series of high-stakes International issues. Update: Date: Title: Lawmakers respond to Trump administration's travel ban Content: Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, leaders on the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, shared contrasting perspectives on the travel ban that the Trump administration imposed on 12 countries last night. Grassley, the GOP chair of the committee, said the president was within his rights to impose the ban, referencing national security priorities and 'some terrorist attacks we've had in the United States.' Grassley said he is 'very comfortable' with Trump's proclamation, 'because the president's number-one responsibility is the national security of the United States. And I don't know what the basis was for him making that decision, but I assume it's come because of some terrorist attacks we've had in the United States.' Trump made the final call on signing the proclamation after the antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado, according to a White House official. He was considering it beforehand, but Sunday's assault put it into motion faster. Grassley continued, saying 'not only that, but it's a foreign policy issue, and you know how the Constitution gives the president of the United States wide sway in foreign policy.' Durbin, meanwhile, criticized the move, saying, 'I don't understand it.' 'The president said this situation, terrible crime in Boulder, was the reason for this. The individual in Boulder was from Egypt,' the Illinois Democrat said. 'The president did not include Egypt on his list of nations of people we don't want in the United States. I can't follow his thinking on this at all.' Update: Date: Title: Trump proclaims Xi call had "very positive conclusion" on trade issues Content: President Donald Trump concluded a long-awaited 90-minute telephone call with President Xi Jinping of China, saying he was encouraged that ongoing trade tensions could soon be resolved. Calling the conversation 'very good,' Trump said follow-up talks would occur 'soon' between the countries' economic teams, and that Xi invited him to visit China. 'During the conversation, President Xi graciously invited the First Lady and me to visit China, and I reciprocated. As Presidents of two Great Nations, this is something that we both look forward to doing,' Trump wrote. Trump said the call focused almost entirely on trade, without touching on other geopolitical issues like an Iran nuclear deal or the Russia-Ukraine war. The call 'resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. He singled out the issue of rare earth minerals — which China had placed restrictions on — as an area where he made progress with his counterpart. 'There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products,' Trump wrote. Update: Date: Title: Democratic lawmakers criticize Trump's travel ban as discriminatory Content: Democratic lawmakers slammed President Donald Trump's proclamation to ban travel from several countries to the US. Here's what they've said: Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American in Congress, blasted Trump's policy, comparing it to the president's first term, when he barred travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations from coming to the US. 'This discriminatory policy is beyond shameful. Just like his first Muslim Ban, this latest announcement flies in the face of basic morality and goes directly against our values. This racist policy will not make us safe, it will separate families and endanger lives. We cannot let it stand,' Omar said in a post on X. California Sen. Adam Schiff posted on X: 'This is Trump's reckless first term travel ban all over again. Just like before, Trump's expanded ban on travelers from around the world will not improve our national security and will only further isolate the U.S. from the rest of world. Bigotry is not a national security strategy.' Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington pointed to economic harm due to the ban and suggested it would lead to a dangerous precedent. 'Further, banning people fleeing dangerous countries like Afghanistan — a country where many people are in danger due to their work assisting the U.S. military — the Congo, Haiti, and Sudan will only further destabilize global security,' Jayapal said in a statement posted on her social media. Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey said Trump's travel ban won't make America safer, saying in a post on X: 'We cannot continue to allow the Trump administration to write bigotry and hatred into U.S. immigration policy.' Update: Date: Title: Trump and Xi speak in long-awaited trade call, source says Content: President Donald Trump held a phone call with China's Xi Jinping, a person familiar with the matter said, as the two leaders tussle over trade policy. The White House did not immediately confirm the call, which was also reported by Chinese state media. Remember: Tensions have been rising between the two sides in the weeks after they agreed to a 90-day trade truce last month, which hit pause on their tit-for-tat escalation of tariffs. Trump last week accused China of 'violating' the agreement — a charge Beijing has denied, while it accused the US of taking steps to 'seriously undermine' that consensus. US officials had signaled in recent days that a call between the two leaders could help jump-start progress in expected upcoming trade talks, which had appeared to stall following the initial truce reached in Geneva. Update: Date: Title: Trump issues travel ban on 12 countries Content: President Donald Trump signed a proclamation yesterday evening to ban travel from several countries to the US, citing security risks. The ban will fully restrict entry of nationals from the following 12 countries: People from these seven countries will have partial restriction: The proclamation includes exceptions for lawful permanent residents, existing visa holders, certain visa categories and individuals whose entry serves US national interests. The president made the final call on signing the proclamation after the antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado, according to a White House official. He was considering it beforehand, but Sunday's assault put it into motion faster. Trump said in a video posted yesterday that new countries could be added to the travel ban as 'threats emerge around the world.' Update: Date: Title: Republicans downplay impact of Musk blasting Trump's signature legislation Content: Elon Musk lashed out yesterday at President Donald Trump's agenda bill, calling it a 'disgusting abomination.' Both GOP leaders and White House officials are downplaying the actual impact of the tech billionaire's outburst, even as some vent frustration with Musk behind the scenes. White House officials, while annoyed by the matter, said they ultimately did not believe the comments would impact how senators vote on Trump's prized bill. Two administration officials even went as far as suggesting Musk's opposition could actually help Trump's measure, given how toxic the Tesla CEO has become over the course of his time in Trump's orbit. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune both evinced no worry whatsoever that it would change Republicans' minds or sink the massive border, tax and spending cuts package. While several GOP senators had been expressing doubts about the bill for weeks, none cited new concerns over Musk's comments. Republican leaders remain bullish that they can deliver the legislation to Trump's desk by July 4 — an ambitious timeline. Watch more from CNN's Kaitlan Collins: Elon Musk lashed out at President Donald Trump's agenda bill — which the president is pressuring GOP senators to support — calling it a 'disgusting abomination.' CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports. #cnn #news Update: Date: Title: Speaker Johnson says he will put DOGE spending cuts on House floor next week Content: Speaker Mike Johnson said yesterday that he will put the White House's spending cuts request on the House floor next week. 'Next week, we will put the rescissions bill on the floor of the House and encourage all our Members to support this commonsense measure,' Johnson said in a joint statement with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and House Republican Chair Lisa McClain. The White House earlier this week sent the $9.4 billion spending cuts request — known as 'rescissions' — to Congress as it seeks to formalize the Department of Government Efficiency's slashes to federal funding. If the package comes to a vote, it can clear both the House and the Senate with a simple majority, meaning Republicans can advance it without Democratic support. Johnson said Monday that he expects there may be 'multiple' such packages coming to the hill in the next few months. 'It's a big priority for me,' Johnson said. Update: Date: Title: Senate leader sets ambitious timeline for vote on Trump's domestic policy bill Content: Senate Majority Leader John Thune is setting an ambitious timeline for a vote on President Donald Trump's domestic policy bill, with the goal of sending it to Trump's desk by July 4 after senators make changes to the House bill. 'I think we're on track — I hope, at least — to be able to produce something that we can pass through the Senate, send back to the House, have them pass and put on the President's desk by the Fourth of July,' Thune told CNN. He added his chamber would amend the House bill, but said 'it will have to be tracked fairly closely, obviously, with the House bill,' citing House Republicans' 'fragile majority' and how they had to strike a 'delicate balance' in the House GOP conference to adopt the package last month. However, Thune did acknowledge that 'there are some things that senators want added to the bill, or things that we would do slightly differently,' than the House. Pressed on whether he would consider overruling the parliamentarian if she objects to anything in the package, which must abide by strict budget rules, Thune insisted that 'we're not going there.' Thune also indicated that the Senate could move on sanctions against Russia before July 4, but noted that they are working with the Trump administration on timing so as not to disrupt negotiations. The resolution, led by Sens. Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal, currently has over 80 co-sponsors in the Senate.
