President Donald Trump’s recent claim that he has “total authority” to “open” the U.S. economy and end shelter-in-place orders instituted by several states and cities has some conservatives up in arms.
"I have the ultimate authority," he said at Monday's coronavirus task force press briefing.
"When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total," Trump added. "And that's the way it's got to be. It's total."
"Americans who believe in limited government deserve another option," tweeted Rep. Justin Amash, the Michigan congressman who left the Republican Party and became an independent last year.
The editors of the National Review wrote: "To hear the words 'the authority is total' pass the lips of our chief executive was jarring, unwelcome, and dangerous."
Weekly Standard founder Bill Kristol said he’s “alarmed” by Trump’s statement.
"But what if alarmism — even a little head-exploding — is warranted?" Kristol wrote in The Bulwark. "What if the quick dismissal of Trump's silly invocations of authoritarianism is too easy? What if loose authoritarian talk today is a harbinger of serious authoritarian deeds tomorrow? Can't performative authoritarian gestures lay the groundwork for more thoroughgoing authoritarian actions?"
Fox News anchor Bret Baier said, "I think that there's hypocrisy here, in that, one if President Obama had said those words that you heard from President Trump...conservatives' heads would have exploded across the board."
Trump later clarified that he will give governors the authorization “to implement a reopening … at a time and in a manner as most appropriate” for each individual state.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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