Republicans think the President is King (no Queens, please) for 4 years! Jim Jordan admits it on CNN

[keopeli]

Jordan Defends Trump - Politico article link about the Jordan/Bash CNN: State of the Union clip from today

On CNN: State of the Union, hosted by Dana Bash, Rep Jim Jordan staunchly defended Trump against the indictments he faces.

Here are his words:

“He said he declassified this material,” Jordan added. “He can put it wherever he wants and handle it however he wants.”

This is not only wrong, it is anti-American! A President is not a King. The moment he/she becomes President, follows swearing a solemn oath to the American people. This oath was written by George Washington, our founding President. Trump himself took the oath. It's very simple. Perhaps too simple.

Here are George Washington's (and Trump's) words:

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.

A monarch would not take that oath. A monarch does not "preserve, protect, and defend" anything except themselves and their own personal interests.

Defending the nation from all enemies, foreign and domestic, is the President's most important job. Did Trump protect us from the insurrection? No, because it benefited him NOT to do so. Did he protect us from the Coronavirus? No. Sadly, half a million Americans died needlessly because of Trump. Did he protect us from the Nazis that were growing during his tenure? "Good people on both sides." Was it in the nation's interest to kill the Iranian General (and many others)? Was it in our interest to abandon our Kurdish allies in Syria and hand the war effort over to Putin? Was it best for the nation to faun over the Saudis and Israelis, both of whom are prosecuting malicious and illegal war efforts (Yemen and Palestine, respectively) while, at the same time, undermining our strongest and oldest allies?

No, a President does not get to do "whatever he wants" as Jim Jordan says. A President must obey the same laws we all obey. And, frankly, it's not hard to do that and wield great power (see Trump's predecessor). In fact, a President is more constricted by laws than most of us. He's constricted by national security laws, confidential information laws. Though the President is at the top of the food-chain, so to speak, regarding classification of information, he/she still must obey the laws and procedures while defending the best interests of the nation. I might add that this means EVEN IF the best interest of the country is not necessarily in your OWN best interest.

The thing is, we all KNOW this. All of us. Republicans and MAGATS and bad lawyers and bad judges, they all know that the President is not King. Take a poll and ask, is being President the same as being King for 4 years?

The President would NEVER store NUCLEAR SECRETS, COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE in a bathroom or storage closet because a President knows that is NOT in the best interest of the country. WE ALL KNOW IT.

One thing I learned early on from Trump is that simply laughing in someone's face about their facetiousness is not effective. It shows how uncomfortable one is. The correct response should be outrage. Our press should stand firmly for Democratic principles if nothing else. That is, after all, why they have the freedom to do their job.

We (DUers) should expect more, many more, moments like these. Rather than laugh in their face (which doesn't help), we should be outraged as Americans on behalf of ALL Americans that anyone, especially a US Representative is suggesting that the President is actually a King with no limits, no laws, no boundaries, and no oversight. Wave the flag and call it what it is:

UNAMERICAN!

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Post-script: I was guilty of choosing to laugh at MAGATS in 2016 and being mis-led by polling. I'm not condemning anyone who made this mistake, like I did. Rather, I'm trying to find my own path to a better, more conscientious reaction so that I do not make the same mistake 8 years later.

And, my obligatory little sarcasm thingy for the "no Queens, please" joke I inserted in the title above. Being Gay Prride weekend where I live, I couldn't help but make reference to the "Drag Queen" threat - which is very real!

[EarlG]

1. Yeah the "he declassified it" excuse is so bad

Certainly now that we know roughly what was in the documents. Nuclear secrets… plans assessing the weaknesses of the U.S., and defense strategies… so he just declassified that did he? So anyone can read them now?

WHY?

What kind of loose-cannon lunatic would declassify that kind of material?

[Rhiannon12866]

2. +1000

[keopeli]

3. Seriously, we should all request FOIA public copies of all the documents he "declassified".

[Emile]

4. Gym Jordan knows Garland has the goods on him too.

[keopeli]

6. So do the other whiners, like Lindsay Graham.

[Goodheart]

5. Furthermore, that's not a power they would allow for a Democratic president.

[keopeli]

7. That's true. But we've said that many times before and it doesn't register with GQPers

It's certainly true. So it's fair to point this out on every occasion.