When a Republican President Shrugs at the Constitution, Who Will Defend It?
For most of my life, I believed the greatest constitutional threat to America came from the Left—particularly Democratic Socialists, whose promises of state-controlled equity play on the dangerous emotion of envy. Envy is a silent infiltrator. It appeals to our desire for fairness but leaves us vulnerable to centralized control and weakened rights. That’s why I’ve always looked to the Republican Party as a bulwark—imperfect, yes, but still the party of limited government and constitutional reverence.
Until now.
In a jaw-dropping interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, President Donald Trump said he doesn’t know if he is required to uphold the U.S. Constitution in carrying out his immigration policies. Let that sink in. The sitting president of the United States, a Republican, when asked whether he must uphold the Constitution—the very document he swore to defend—responded:
“I don’t know.”
The same president went on to muse about using military force to annex Greenland. He promoted hats suggesting he might run for an unconstitutional third term. He plans a grand military parade on his birthday. He praised loyalists as successors. These are not the musings of a constitutional conservative. These are the red flags of authoritarian drift.
Where is the outcry from Republicans?
Where are the constitutional conservatives?
Why so much silence?
In truth, this moment is not just an indictment of one man—it’s an indictment of a movement that once claimed to stand for limited government and individual liberty. If the Constitution is optional for a Republican president, then what is the party conserving?
This is a sad moment. But it is also an opportunity—a perfect one—for Libertarians.
We, more than anyone, have been consistent defenders of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, due process, free markets, and personal liberty. We don’t check our principles at the feet of a strongman. We don’t excuse authoritarianism just because it wears a red tie instead of a blue one.
That’s why I’m running for Chair of the Libertarian Party of California.
It’s time for us to be the grownups in the room. To remind Americans—Left, Right, and Independent—that liberty is not a partisan value. It’s an American one. And it needs defending now more than ever. We should be putting a lot of material out there. The Libertarian Party is the only party which stands for limited government.
Let Republicans stay silent if they must.
We will not.