Working to "save" the United States supersedes following the law, President Donald Trump seemed to imply on social media.
Trump on Saturday took to social media platform X to post a single line: "He who saves his Country does not violate any Law." It's a variation of a quote often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte.
Sunday on Truth Social, Trump shared a post by conservative writer Logan Hall who posted a painting of Bonaparte riding a horse and with the quote, "He who saves his country violates no law."
Trump's posts came with Democrats relying on court actions to try and stymie the president, Elon Musk, and the Department of Government Efficiency from continuing to investigate federal agencies in pursuit of financial waste, abuse, and fraud.
Trump's opponents also have sought judicial action to stop numerous executive orders that have been signed during the administration's first month.
While Trump said he abides by court rulings, his advisers have attacked judges on social media and called for their impeachment. Vice President J.D. Vance wrote on X this week that judges "aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power."
"Such moves include trying to unilaterally rewrite the definition of birthright citizenship — a right enshrined in the Constitution's 14th Amendment — to exclude babies born to undocumented mothers, and mass firings of public servants, ignoring civil service protection laws," The New York Times reported Saturday.
"He [Trump] has all but shuttered the agency [United States Agency for International Development] responsible for foreign aid, dismissed prosecutors who investigated him, and fired Senate-confirmed watchdogs without giving proper notice to Congress or justification."
The Times did say there have been other instances in which presidents claimed the power to override legal limits.
Former President Abraham Lincoln, in the early days of the Civil War, suspended habeas corpus rights, called up troops, and otherwise spent money that Congress, which was not in session, had not appropriated.
After Congress reconvened, Lincoln sent them a letter saying what he had done, "whether strictly legal or not," had been necessary. Congress then retroactively ratified his actions.
After the Watergate scandal, former President Richard Nixon said the country's chief executive has inherent power to authorize government officials to break laws if the president decides that doing so is in the national interest.
"When the president does it, that means it's not illegal," Nixon claimed.
Reuters contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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