He don’t know
On Meet the Press NBC’s Kristine Welker asked Donald Trump, “don’t you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?”
“I don’t know,” Trump replied.
Excuse me while I reach for my bottle of Excedrin.
It was on January 20th, just over one hundred days ago, that Trump look the oath of office. It is a requirement before one becomes President of the United States. The requirement is found in the Constitution of the United States. The text for that oath, administered on this occasion by John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the United States, is found in the same place in the same Constitution.
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:– I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
In deference to Trump, even the friendly Fox channel noted that he does not have his hand on the Bible being held by his wife Melania while taking the oath. His hand is down by his side. That can be seen in this closeup. Maybe that means the oath didn’t count. Some people joked that he might also have had his fingers crossed. The Bible is not required by the Constitution.
Trump was asked also whether noncitizens are entitled to due process, which the Fifth Amendment requires before any person within the U.S. may “be deprived of life,liberty, or property.” “I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know,” Trump told Welker.
The Trump administration has deported men who say they had no chance to contest whether they are gang members as accused, leading to two different Supreme Court decisions that blocked the administration from sending them to prison in El Salvador without due process. One decision came early on the morning of April 19, hours after men had been loaded onto buses and were seen heading toward an airport in Texas.
Trump has also said that while “we always have to obey the laws,” he would like to see some “homegrown criminals” sent to El Salvador as well, a proposal that was widely criticized by legal experts. Trump suggested judicial review would slow him down too much. “If you’re talking about that, then we’d have to have a million or 2 million or 3 million trials,” he said. “We have thousands of people that are — some murderers and some drug dealers and some of the worst people on Earth…. I was elected to get them the hell out of here, and the courts are holding me from doing it,” he added.
Top administration officials like Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security and Thomas Homan, White House Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations, have joined in Trump’s compaints. Both are leading the charge driving Trumps anti-immigrant policy. Trump has attacked judges, called for their impeachment and ignored a Supreme Court ruling directing his administration to facilitate the return of a migrant, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was, according to court documents the administration has tried to withdraw, mistakenly sent to a prison for terrorists in El Salvador.
The statement admitting mistake in the Garcia case was made in court by Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni , “The facts are conceded, plaintiff Abrego Garcia should not have been removed,” Reuveni said during a hearing. Reuveni was acting deputy director of the Justice Department Office of Immigration Litigation. In a statement provided to CBS News following the suspension, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “At my direction, every Department of Justice attorney is required to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States. Any attorney who fails to abide by this direction will face consequences.”
Was the suspension of Reuveni the consequences for telling the truth in court?
I do not know.
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