Day 186: Wannabe King Donald Trump Demands Loyalty to Royalty
However, no official U.S. document — from the Constitution down — compels the swearing of allegiance to the president. Quite the opposite, actually.
The first time the president is mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, the text reads:
The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
The framers put the procedure for ousting the president before delineating the president’s powers, the electoral procedures and the requirements to hold the office. The message could not be clearer: America is not Great Britain; we elect no king.
The Pledge of Allegiance, an oath in existence for 130 years, recited by schoolchildren and Americans every day, demands allegiance to the U.S. flag and the republic.
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
The national anthem does not decry, “God Save the President” and no official document, pledge, oath or law in the entire government demands fealty to any elected member of government, including the president.
Somebody should probably tell Donald Trump that.
During his campaign, he famously extolled his rally attendees to raise their right hand and swear loyalty to him.
“Let’s do a pledge. Who likes me in this room?” Trump asked the crowd. “I’ve never done this before. Can I have a pledge? A swearing? Raise your right hand.”
The Republican front-runner then had the audience repeat after him.
“I do solemnly swear that I, no matter how I feel, no matter what the conditions, if there are hurricanes or whatever, will vote on or before the 12th for Donald J. Trump for President.”
The crowd ended the pledge with cheers.
“Now I know. Don’t forget you all raised your hands. You swore. Bad things happen if you don’t live up to what you just did,” Trump said before continuing with his speech.
Now that he’s in the White House, his tone hasn’t changed; it has just shifted to elected officials.
This is an outright plea for allegiance and devotion.
It’s not Republicans’ jobs — or anyone’s, for that matter —to “protect their President” on any matter. And as if there was any doubt as to what Trump was referring, his tweet five minutes prior revealed his mindset.
Trump is begging to be protected from an investigation that spans all the way to wide-ranging collusion with a foreign government to undermine core U.S. tenets. He has tried defending himself on the Russian probe virtually nonstop for months. It’s derailed his administration from the beginning, and rumors emit out of the Oval Office by the week that he’s doing everything he can to fire special counsel Robert Mueller.
His tirade continued today, with deflection, attempted undercutting and name-calling.
But Trump is looking for allies and finding the cupboard bare. His demand for absolute faithfulness isn’t merely unbecoming of the office of the presidency. It’s un-American.
186 days in, 1276 to go
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