In His Own Words: Donald Trump On Power

Press Release / September 20, 2024

Earlier this year the Supreme Court shook the foundations of our democracy by giving broad criminal immunity to presidents, infusing them with king-like powers. Next week, on September 24th, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary will hold a hearing examining this dangerous decision. 

Most immediately, the decision benefited former president Donald Trump by making it overwhelmingly likely he will not stand trial before the 2024 election in the criminal case against him related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building and disruption of the certification of the 2020 election. 

Given the importance of the Supreme Court’s decision, it is worth examining the former president’s views on political power. His words paint an alarming picture for American democracy. 

  • Trump praised Prime Minister Viktor Orban, known for working to dismantle democracy in Hungary, saying he was “one of the most respected men — they call him a strong man. He’s a tough person. Smart.”
  • On Truth Social, Trump has threatened to jail people who he perceives as political threats: “WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again.”
  • According to CNN, Trump called for terminating the Constitution in a Truth Social post: “Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” Trump wrote in a post on the social network Truth Social and accused “Big Tech” of working closely with Democrats. “Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”
  • According to the New York Times, on Truth Social Trump said “presidents ‘must have full immunity’ to avoid indictments being filed against them by ‘the opposing party.’ The protections of immunity, he added, should extend even to ‘events that ‘cross the line.’”

The Supreme Court’s decision does not just apply to Trump–but these statements demonstrate just how far-ranging the consequences of the MAGA justices’ actions may be for our country.