Trump and the Constitution: A Review

Since Trump was sworn into office in 2017, his presidency has involved a myriad of constitutional crises. After replacing the weak Articles of Confederation in 1787, the United States Constitution has served as the blueprint for American democracy. Whether a president decides to hold a strict interpretation of the document as the Democratic-Republicans championed or a loose interpretation similar to the Federalists, the Constitution acts as the pillars for the government. Vice President Pence asserted that the Trump administration would adhere to a “strict” interpretation of the Constitution, but it has become blatantly obvious that the Trump-Pence Administration is, as Speaker Pelosi said, “ignoring the text itself and selling out the Constitution to line [their] pockets.” The text embedded in the Constitution is one that has been imbued in American society, and it is the role of the government to follow that text. However, Trump and his administration have frequently violated and obstructed the very same text that holds the pillars of American democracy. Citizens have seen firsthand Trump’s grotesque contravention of the First Amendment during the recent Black Lives Matter protest that erupted across the world after the senseless killings of George Floyde, Breonna Taylor, and countless others. While the Constitution has been ignored before, Trump’s violation of the First Amendment is his most prominent constitutional flaw.

Trump has used the Constitution as a personal shield multiple times. He called out a citizen’s right to bear arms as outlined in the Second Amendment. He used the Constitution to defend his right to free speech when Twitter began blocking his tweets after they were identified as erroneous and dangerous. However, Trump only utilizes the Constitution when it protects himself. Four days after attacking Twitter for censoring his tweets, Trump declared war on American citizens as they marched peacefully seeking to, in the name of the First Amendment, “petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Treasured by the US’s founders, the right to assemble as outlined in the First Amendment has been a key right in American history. In fact, Thomas Jefferson asserted it was the duty of a citizen to reject “any government that does not secure such rights.” Labor unions, civil rights movements, anti-war protests, and other forms of campaigns exercised their right of assembly. Ignoring the same amendment he utilized just four days prior, Trump swiftly sent in police and outside force to Lafayette Square into Washington D.C to disperse the protesters. By sending in force, Trump assaulted the Constitution. By treating protestors as illegitimate intruders, Trump broke America’s core law: the Constitution.

This is not the first time Trump has fiddled with the Constitution. Back in 2017, Trump found himself in a legal quagmire after blocking critics on Twitter. In Knight First Amendment Inst. at Columbia Univ. v. Trump, plaintiffs asserted that the First Amendment does not give public officials the right to exclude persons just because they express different beliefs. In April of this year during a COVID-19 briefing, Trump imprudently proclaimed “when somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total and that’s the way it’s got to be.” This goes completely against the Tenth Amendment, which makes it explicit that “the powers not delegated to the United States” are reserved “to the people.”

Evidently, Trump uses the Constitution not as a blueprint for democracy, but as a personal device to advance himself. If Trump was to accurately utilize the Constitution, he would do so to continue the growth of democracy and liberty. He would do so to keep the government in check, not to abuse political power. Trump claims to be a patriot but continuously goes against American morals. Trump preaches for his own free speech but knocks down the right for others if their speech critiques him. For Trump, the Constitution exists when he needs it and is invisible when others use it. To Trump, the Constitution is his to use and his to break.