On Friday my frustrated husband lamented that Trump has broken everything. This came after hearing that Don Lemon, acting as a journalist, had been arrested by the Department of Justice in clear violation of the First Amendment. The arrest was appalling because it flies in the face of everything we have come to expect with regards to our Constitutional rights, especially freedom of the press. We’re watching one wicked violation after another. It’s as though the basic morality and common decency we expect in our society is being challenged by evil people in power. It’s as though the Constitution itself no longer exists. But it does exist. What we are seeing is that the mechanisms to enforce morality, decency and even the Constitution are weak if not missing altogether because a truly evil person is in power.
A perfect example of this is the fact that the Senate failed to remove Trump from office, relying instead on the Justice system to prosecute his criminal behavior. Merrick Garland started too late and the courts took too long to get to trial. Despite the Constitution provisions against it, Trump was permitted to run for president in 2024 after engaging in an insurrection. Many law scholars thought the 14th Amendment of the Constitution was automatic in its enforcement, (like having to be 35 years old, born in the U.S., or serving for only two terms as president). But it wasn’t. Seeking enforcement, several state attorney generals took up the issue, leading to a Colorado judge ruling that Trump was disqualified from being on their state ballot because the events of January 6th were ruled an insurrection. However, the Supreme Court ruled that states lack the authority to disqualify federal candidates. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court decided that only Congress had the authority to enforce the disqualification provision of the Constitution. And under an intimidated or complicit Republican Congress, the issue was promptly pushed aside, and Trump was allowed to run again.
This Republican Congress and compromised Supreme Court have abdicated their duties as the second and third co-equal branches of government, rendering the mechanisms to enforce the Constitution powerless. In particular, this Republican Congress stands silently by as Trump repeatedly violates the Constitution because members are terrified of losing a job they aren’t even doing. We continuously watch Trump violate the emoluments clause in the Constitution that prohibits federal officeholders from receiving gifts or payments from foreign states without congressional consent. The Republicans did absolutely nothing when Trump accepted a $400 million plane from Qatar.
The tariffs he placed on the entire world were in violation of the Constitution as the right to impose tariffs clearly belongs to Congress. And yet, we are leaving it to a compromised Supreme Court to rule on something so clearly stated in the Constitution. This is the same Court that shocked Constitutional scholars by granting the president immunity if he breaks the law in his role as president. The fact that the Supreme Court is even giving a hearing to issues like birthright citizenship, declaring war without Congress, tariff powers, and other Constitutional absolutes that we assumed were clearly stated as the law of the land for the past 250 years is disturbing and destabilizing.
The violation of the rights of citizens to protest, to be secure in their home and person, and to due process, are being trampled upon by government sanctioned thugs on our streets without any mechanism to stop them. The Fourth Amendment reads: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” ICE agents are clearly violating the Constitution every time they kidnap and detain people without warrants, based solely on their skin color or accent. They call these “Kavanaugh stops” because Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh issued a bench ruling allowing ICE to briefly question people based on their skin color, accent, and occupation. However, ICE has exploited the ruling, violently denying basic civil rights. The moment they chase and tackle people to the ground, confiscate a cell phone, break someone’s window, knock down a door, or seize a person without a warrant, they are violating the Constitution. We all know it, but we are helpless to stop it. Brave bystanders video tape the atrocities for the world to see. We’ve seen that those who try to intervene to protect victims are being arrested, pepper sprayed or worse, shot dead.
It feels horrible to watch our Constitution being trampled upon. Decent people are angry and frustrated like my husband because the mechanisms and people who are supposed to protect and defend the Constitution have been co-opted by people appointed to positions of power who are clearly violating their oath to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. Instead, the leaders of the Department of Justice, the FBI, the Department of Defense (War), and the Department of Homeland Security have brazenly replaced their oath to the Constitution with a loyalty pledge to Donald Trump. And the Republican Congress is silent and complicit, too cowardly to do their job. The same is true of the majority of Supreme Court justices who have taken bribes or who subscribe to white Christian nationalism.
We have a mob boss in the White House who brazenly threatens, bullies, bribes, extorts, and seeks retribution against those who oppose him. His brutal tactics have undermined the mechanisms designed to enforce our Constitution and the rule of law. His attitude is that of a naughty child who says to his teacher or parent, “Make me!” The problem is that those who have the legal and Constitutional authority to “make him” have repeatedly backed down. Even corporate leaders and corporate news organizations have bent the knee because this president has seized the authority to destroy their businesses using the levers of government.
So, it is up to we, the people, to “make him”. We must continue to peacefully protest in the streets like yesterday and the past several weeks. We must continue to create songs and other works of art to oppose this lawlessness. We must continue to cut off Trump supporters from social circles. We must continue to speak truth to power by calling and writing to our representatives. We must continue to use our economic boycott power to pressure businesses that support Trump to stop. We must applaud FBI agents and government lawyers and military generals who quit their jobs in protest. We must support public media like NPR and PBS. We must support organizations that sue the Administration for violations of the Constitution. Scott Galloway is calling on people to lean on corporate media profits by cutting down on streaming services. And this November we must go to the polls and vote for candidates that are brave and boldly committed to standing up for the Constitution and to holding all of the lawbreakers accountable.
I responded to my husband’s frustration that I view this as an opportunity to rebuild what was broken into something stronger. We now recognize the weaknesses that allowed one maniac to wreak havoc on our country and the world. Once we have rid ourselves of him and his followers, we can replace what was broken with something much better and far more resilient.