You may recall that this country revolted against the mad King George, III. The lore of America’s revolt is recounted in every school – Paul Revere’s ride, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, George Washington’s victory as commander of the Continental Army, the creation of a constitution with three separate but equal branches of government.
Well, Donald Trump has basically said, “forget it,” and is now crowning himself king. He has overturned nearly every government institution by firing anyone who does not declare loyalty to him, and he has padded the U.S. Supreme Court, turning it into his own personal rubber stamp.
Last year, the Supreme Court granted Trump near-total immunity. Trump certainly took that ruling to heart, quoting Napoleon Bonaparte when he said, “He who save his country does not violate any law.” In other words, the laws of this land, including those of the U.S. Constitution, do not apply to Trump. It is a sentiment embraced by tyrants, one of which was Napoleon.
Trump has explicitly referred to himself as “king” and suggested on more than one occasion that he seek a third term. Perhaps someone should remind him that, based on our current laws, a president can only serve two terms. George Washington himself famously turned down an additional term because he did not want the presidency to become a kingship.
Trump’s executive orders are in effect a way to bypass Congress. The sheep, otherwise known as Republican senators and congressmen, are mindlessly watching Trump take away their own power. The president has fired career civil servants in the FBI, Department of Justice and Department of Defense. He now controls every lever of power, and there is no check on his own. Always the admirer of authoritarians like Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump has now completely taken over control of the entire U.S. government.
Like mad King George, our mad King Trump is doing what he pleases with little regard for the consequences. We are firing FAA workers after a plane crash, firing firefighters in California after one of the worst fire seasons on record, and firing Department of Health workers in the middle of a measles outbreak and bird flu epidemic. Some cuts are not yet being felt, but we will see them soon. School lunches will end. Medicaid is being cut. The idiocy of Elon Musk’s mindless termination of government workers is that no one is analyzing the consequences. Musk terminates nuclear inspectors and then realizes that we need them; he tries to recall the termination but has difficulty locating their addresses.
Musk is, in effect, the unelected duke of America. He has been given broad and unchecked powers, using a group of 20-year-olds to chainsaw agencies, employees and programs.
Most notably, Musk has not cut federal funding for SpaceX, Starlink and Tesla. Space X has received $21 billion in federal contracts and has been promised upwards of $35 billion more. Anyone who has the choice between school lunches for poor children and funding a billionaire should not hesitate to opt for the former.
But Musk does not care about people, which is probably why he was “jokingly” playing with a chainsaw at recent conservative conference. In the meantime, 30,000 people have lost their jobs and must now wonder how they will pay their mortgage, buy food and survive.
Immigrants are afraid to seek medical care, afraid to send their children to school. And, just as I predicted, even those who are here legally are not safe from being swept up by ICE.
Marlon Parris migrated to the United States from Trinidad when he was a boy in 1997. He has held a permanent residency status for more than 20 years. He served three tours in Iraq with the U.S. Army. He was, nevertheless, picked up by ICE on Jan. 22 and has since been held in a correctional facility. His family is fighting to get him out, but this requires a lengthy legal process.
I have been warning everyone in my family to carry proof of their right to U.S. residency, whether it be a green card or a U.S. passport. My family on my father’s side migrated to this country over 120 years ago. I was born in this country. I carry my U.S. passport card. If ICE does a round up — and if you are Black or brown or, worst yet, have an accent — you are subject to being detained until it is worked out that you have a right to remain.
Staying in a detention center for 30 days while you wait on a court date is not my idea of a good time.
Reginald J. Clyne is a Miami trial lawyer who has worked in some of the largest law firms in the United States and been in practice since 1987, trying cases in both state and federal courts. He has lived in Africa, Brazil, Honduras and Nicaragua.
