Former President Donald J. Trump took to social media early Thursday morning (Jan. 18), claiming once again that the United States’ presidents “must have full immunity”. The fiery, all-cap post, which originally surfaced on Truth Social at around 2:59 am, reiterated Trump’s ideas on the limits of power for a president and how setting limits on their authority may lead to poor administration.
“A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES MUST HAVE FULL IMMUNITY, WITHOUT WHICH IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM/HER TO PROPERLY FUNCTION,” read the first line of the explosive post, suggesting presidents cannot possibly function if they do not enjoy complete immunity from prosecution. This is an argument that echoes Trump’s defense teams’ claim during a proceeding with a Washington, DC appeals court panel.
“EVEN EVENTS THAT ‘CROSS THE LINE’ MUST FALL UNDER TOTAL IMMUNITY, OR IT WILL BE YEARS OF TRAUMA TRYING TO DETERMINE GOOD FROM BAD. THERE MUST BE CERTAINTY,” this was one of the most concerning portions of the post as it further blurs the line between the legal and ethical ideologies put in practice by those in power.
Stating “events that ‘cross the line’” makes no distinction between legal parameters and seemingly expands the concept of immunity to every and any action, implying anything a president decides is inherently correct, ethical, and legal. The former president further drives this point home by comparing his current circumstance (being on trial for doing “his job”), with stopping the police from doing an effective job preventing crime to guard against a “rouge cop” or a “bad apple”.
“SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO LIVE WITH ‘GREAT BUT SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT’,” read one of the lines on the post, to which many have taken issue since allowing things to just be the sake of effective administration makes for inefficient governance. Urging the public to simply accept decisions with no regard for consequences is a dangerous proposal.
Trump continued the thread by retreating his point of view on presidential immunity stating, “ALL PRESIDENTS MUST HAVE COMPLETE & TOTAL PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY, OR THE AUTHORITY & DECISIVENESS OF A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WILL BE STRIPPED & GONE FOREVER. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL BE AN EASY DECISION. GOD BLESS THE SUPREME COURT!”
