It is not Donald Trump’s Justice Department. It is our Justice Department. The Attorney General swears an oath to defend and protect the Constitution of the United States, not the president. Donald Trump and the attorney general violate their responsibility to us when they use the legal system for personal revenge rather than to secure the nation.
The presidency is not Trump’s office. It is our office. We have selected him to serve in the presidency for a term. He acts within his proper authority when he acts for the country, not when he acts to enrich himself and his friends.
Money he receives from others because he holds the office of president is not properly his money. It is our government’s money. A trustee may not keep for himself the proceeds of his trust. Blatant use of the presidency to obtain personal profit violates the public trust and is unacceptable — morally wrong.
We own the White House. Donald Trump does not. His changes to it, and to the White House grounds, reflect on us. What he does with it reflects his view of American values. Are we content with that?
The president does not have the power to tax. The Congress has the power to tax but within constitutional limits. Trump’s minions on Capitol Hill may lay supine as he levies import duties on the public. But they do so ignoring their responsibility to discharge a function assigned to them by the Constitution.
In pursuing his obsession with making “deals” and acting on impulse, Trump willfully ignores structures erected to assure that the government conducts business within bounds set by the Constitution, thoughtfully, with respect, with a dose of kindness where possible, and in a manner that reflects the good nature and common sense of the vast majority of the American people.
The Supreme Court has given the president broad immunity from criminal responsibility for his acts. It cannot give him immunity from the truth and from the judgment of the public.