Defiance of Reason, Law and the Constitution: The Spirit of Trump’s Presidency

Donald Trump’s misbegotten war in Iran reflects the worst aspects of his presidency. In defiance of reason, law and the Constitution, President Trump plunged the United States into a war of choice that has cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, rattled the world economy, spiked energy prices, inflicted immense pain on the pocketbooks of Americans, undermined our international leadership, stained our image and reputation abroad and, in the end, left Iran in  possession of its enriched uranium, in a position to militarily threaten and intimidate its neighbors and control the Strait of Hormuz, at will.

     The consequences of President Trump’s disastrous exercise in unilateral, unconstitutional presidential warmaking is a function of the spirit of his presidency, defined by reckless and lawless policies and actions.  Trump’s presidency, the culmination of a long train of abuses of power and injuries inflicted on the Republic and the American people, reflects the many misguided, ill-conceived, illegal and unconstitutional actions that have colored his administration since the beginning of his second term. An abbreviated laundry list of Trump’s misbegotten acts range from his grant of full and unconditional pardons to the 1,600 insurrectionists who beat Capitol Hill police officers and attempted to stop the solemn constitutional process of counting the Electoral College votes, to his self-aggrandizing scheme to grant himself, his family and businesses from IRS audits, to the conception and construction of a White House ballroom which, he said, at its rollout, would involve no taxpayer dollars, but upon examination of records will cost upwards of $600 million, half of which will be borne by Americans struggling to pay for food, healthcare and gasoline.

       While we’re at it, there is no reason to omit mention of the consideration inside the inner sanctum of Trump’s administration to invoke the Insurrection Act to empower ICE agents and members of the military to shutdown peaceful protestors in Minneapolis, or the insidious proposal to suspend, in defiance of both the Constitution and  a recent Supreme Court ruling,  the great Writ of Habeas Corpus to expedite the mass deportation of newly arrived undocumented immigrants, as well as those who have been in the United States for many years working, contributing to society and likely paying more in taxes than, for example, Donald Trump. Trump’s misappropriation of funds allocated to the Secret Service for use in the construction of his coveted ballroom would, from the founders’ perspective, constitute an impeachable offense as a piece of a long string of acts reflecting his unconstitutional aggrandizement of the congressional power to tax and spend. Want to talk about Trump’s usurpation of powers granted exclusively to Congress? Consider the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, the foundation of all American liberties, which dates to the Magna Carta of 1215. Consider, as well, his usurpation of the war power, which the framers of the Constitution granted solely and exclusively to Congress, for fear of what James Madison called the executive’s reckless propensity to make war.

     Madison’s warning could not be more timely, given Trump’s failed war in Iran. Trump falsely brags about victory and triumph in the war, but the reality, of course, is far different. Trump’s war has been an exercise in calamity and capitulation. Trump has not satisfied any of the goals that he advanced for going to war. 

      There has been no regime change in Iran. There is, among the new faces of leadership, no change in views and values; indeed, those who have mounted the throne of power in Iran are, if anything, more brutal than the men who had inflicted horrific violence upon the Iranian people. The Strait of Hormuz which, before Trump initiated war on February 28, was understood across the world and, most importantly, inside Iran, as an international waterway, open for free transit to all ships. After four months of war, Iran now understands that it can control the Strait, and with it, the global economy.  Iran’s military has been weakened, but it remains dangerous and is brimming with confidence after withstanding the power of the American military. If anything, the U.S. military has been weakened, in substance for its depletion of missiles, and as a matter of reputation, for the military, once seen as invincible is now viewed, under the leadership of President Trump, as one that can be stymied by a moderately powerful military.