Patriot Problems


Donald Trump on the rule of law, the military, and respected U.S. institutions.

Examples of Donald Trump’s disregard for the rule of law and disdain for national institutions, disrespect of our oldest allies and deference to dictators, efforts to sow division and incitements of violence, and any actions or statements otherwise antithetical to Constitutional ideals.

 

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≡ Sept. 29, 2020

 

Told the white supremacist group ‘Proud Boys’ to “stand back and standby” on eve of 2020 election.

» Asked if he would condemn white supremacist groups during the first 2020 presidential debate, Trump instead told right-wing militant group the ‘Proud Boys’ to “stand by” during the election.

 

[source]

 

≡ Sept. 23, 2020

 

Refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election.

» When asked by a reporter if he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost the election, Trump said:

“We’re going to have to see what happens. You know, I’ve been complaining about the ballots… Get rid of the ballots, you’ll have a very transfer – you’ll have a very peaceful – there won’t be a transfer, frankly. There’ll be a continuation.”

 

[source]

 

≡ Sept. 23, 2020

 

Again takes credit for Veterans bills sponsored & signed by Sen. McCain and President Obama.

» After the late-Sen. McCain’s wife, Cindy McCain,  endorsed of Joe Biden, Trump again rage tweeted about her dead husband and yet again attempted to take all the credit for improvements to the Veterans Affairs office – improvements that are literally named after its primary author, John McCain.

 

[source]

 

≡ Sept. 19, 2020

 

Said he’s counting on federal courts to determine the outcome of the 2020 election on election night.

“We’re gonna have a victory on November 3rd the likes of which you’ve never seen. Now we’re counting on the federal court system to make it so we can actually have an evening where we know who wins. Not where the votes are going to be counted a week later or two weeks later.”

[source]

 

≡ Sept. 3, 2020

 

Claimed he never called John McCain a loser.

» In 2015, just before stating that he preferred “people that weren’t captured” (in reference to McCain’s time as a POW), Trump referred to McCain as a loser for his unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign. Shortly after, Trump doubled down, tweeting:

 

 

≡ Sept. 2, 2020

 

Issued memo to end federal funding for Portland, Seattle, and New York City – declaring them “anarchist jurisdictions.”

» Trump’s attorney general Bill Barr wrote the memo which – somewhat ironically – is at least in part a Trump administration threat to defund the police.

[source]

 

≡ Aug. 12 & 13, 2020

 

Stated that he intended to block USPS funding that he thinks is required for mail-in voting.

“They don’t have the money to do the universal mail-in voting. So therefore, they can’t do it, I guess. Are they going to do it even if they don’t have the money?”

“Now, they need that money in order to make the Post Office work, so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots. Now, if we don’t make a deal, that means they don’t get the money. That means they can’t have universal mail-in voting, they just can’t have it.”

[Election mail has long been treated unofficially as first-class regardless, but funding threats and institutional changes by Trump’s Postmaster Louis DeJoy may cause some to be treated as third-class mail and may cause voting deadlines to be missed.]

[source]

 

≡ July 30, 2020

 

Suggested delaying the 2020 presidential election while making several false claims about mail-in voting.

1) Mail-In Voting is the same thing as Absentee Voting.

2) The U.S. president has no authority to change the constitutionally mandated date of the election.

3) Fraudulent voting resulting mail-in is virtually non-existent.

 

 

≡ July 16, 2020

 

Used the Oval Office’s Resolute desk to advertise Goya food products.

 

[source]

 

≡ June 19, 2020

 

Threatened protesters leading up to a rally in Tulsa, OK.

 

[source]

 

≡ June 17, 2020

 

Allegedly told Chinese president Xi Jinping  to ‘go ahead with building the [detention] camps’ for the countries Muslim population.

» According to Trump’s former national security advisor John Bolton, Trump expressed that the countries detention of over one million native Muslim-Uighur Chinese was ‘exactly the right thing to do’.

» When Trump was asked why he didn’t approve of 2018 sanctions on Chinese officials associated with the countries detention of its Muslim minority populations – Trump seemed to support Bolton’s assertion, saying “Well, we were in the middle of a major trade deal.“

[source]

 

≡ June 4, 2020

 

Tweeted a letter (allegedly written by his lawyer) which referred to the peaceful protesters he had gassed outside the White House as “terrorists”.

» Although signed by John Dowd, the letter contained a suspicious amount of uniquely Trumpian language and style, and referred to the protesters as terrorists.

 

[source]

 

≡ June 3, 2020

 

Trumps former secretary of defense, four-star Marine general James Mattis, issued public letter declaring Trump a constitutional threat.

» Following Trumps tear-gassing and forcible removal of peaceful protesters near the White House for the sake of a photo-op at a nearby church, Mattis wrote in part:

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society…”

» Trump replied by tweeting several easily disprovable lies about the former general, including that he had fired the former-Secretary of Defense (Mattis had resigned), and that he gave the general his decades old nickname.

 

» The tweets were quickly answered by yet another four-star general and former Trump administration official – John Kelly – who publicly defended Mattis and refuted Trump’s account of events.

» Two other four-star generals joined in denouncing Trump’s actions: four-star Navy Admiral Mike Mullen and four-star Army General Martin Dempsey.

[source]

 

≡ June 1, 2020

 

Used tear gas, concussion grenades, and rubber bullets to disperse peaceful protectors outside the White House.

…for the sole-purpose of staging a photo-op at a nearby church.

 

Police Disperse Peaceful Protesters with Tear Gas for Trump’s Bible Photo-Op | Bloomberg QuickTake News (6.1.20)

[source]

 

≡ June 2020

 

Failed to confront Vladimir Putin over alleged bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

[source]

 

≡ May 20, 2020

 

Retweeted video of a supporting declaring states, “the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat.”

[source]

 

≡ May 19, 2020

 

Moved to block ‘active-duty’ benefits for 45,000+ National Guardsmen helping combat COVID-19.

» The Trump administration abruptly announced they would end deployment of the National Guardsmen just one day before many would qualify for the benefits.

» At the time, 1000+ guardsmen had been diagnosed with with coronavirus, many as a result of their deployment to hot zones.

UPDATE: Following intense pressure from congress, Trump agreed to extend their deployment of the guardsmen to allow many to qualify for benefits.

[source]

 

≡ May 2020

 

Threatened funding for the United States Postal Service.

» Trump’s threats are based on his own falsehoods, claiming the USPS loses “A FORTUNE” delivering packages for Amazon, and asserting it is a massive drain on the public – this despite a 2006 law making it illegal for the USPS to deliver parcels below cost.

[The United States Postal Service is a constitutionally mandated institution under the ‘Postal Clause‘]

 

See also: USPS | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (5.10.20)
[source]

 

≡ Apr. 19, 2020

 

Referred to FBI’s leadership as ‘human scum‘ for investigating (and eventually convicting) multiple of Trumps close associates.

» Asked if he would pardon two of those associates, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, to protect them from the coronavirus outbreaks while in prison Trump said “you’ll find out” and proceeded to attack FBI investigations into his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn (who pled guilty to lying to the FBI in 2017):

“But the top of the FBI was scum.  These were crooked people… You know what they are, though, they’re scum, they’re human scum.”

» Also falsely stated that the FBI determined that Flynn had not lied to investigators (the FBI found just the opposite, supported by Flynn’s own plea bargain).

 

[source]

 

≡ Feb. 13, 2020

 

Extended a fake national emergency declaration to pilfer Pentagon funds for border wall.

» With nearly $4,000,000,000 being diverted from the Pentagon and National Guard budgets.

[source]

 

≡ Feb. 3, 2020

 

Conducted ‘invisible orchestra’ during the national anthem.

“You have to stand, proudly, for the national anthem, or you shouldn’t be playing. You shouldn’t be there. Maybe you shouldn’t be in the country.”

—Donald Trump (2018).

Also Donald Trump (2020):

 

 

≡ Feb. 2020

 

Committed the largest rollback of publicly protects lands in U.S. history.

» Shrank multiple National Monuments including the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments by over 2 millions acres.

 

 

≡ Jan. 20, 2020

 

Described using the United States military as a mercenary service to Saudi Arabia.

“I said to Saudi Arabia, I said listen, you’re a very rich country. You want more troops. I’m going to send them to you. But you’ve got to pay us. They’re paying us. They’ve already deposited $1 billion in the bank.”

—Donald Trump, on Fox News ‘The Ingraham Angle’.

» Years before at a White House, in reply to Trumps assertion that the U.S. should profit from military deployments, Secretary Rex Tillerson is said to have replied to Trump:

“I’ve never put on a uniform, but i know this – every person who has put on a uniform, the people in this room, they don’t do it to make a buck. They did it for their country, to protect us. I want everyone to be clear about how much we as a country value their service.”

[source]

 

≡ Nov. 15, 2019

 

Pardoned three soldiers convicted of, or facing trail for, war crimes.

» One was charged with murdering an Afghan man in 2010; another was convicted of ordering soldiers to shoot three Afghan civilians (killing two and wounding the other); while the third was facing charges including murder and attempted murder.

[source]

 

≡ November 2019

 

Sought to intimidate distinguished 20-year Army veteran and whistleblower Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.

» Following Vindmans testimony in President Trump’s impeachment and repeated attacks by right-wing media outlets and the president himself, U.S. Army officials were forced to ‘take measures to protect’ the Lieutenant Colonel.

[source]

 

≡ Oct. 2019

 

Abandoned Kurdish allies fighting the Islamic State in Syria.

» Without consulting his own security council, Trump announced he would end military aid to allied Kurdish fighters in Northern Syria, apparently at the personal request of Turkish President and lightweight dictator, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

[source]

 

≡ Oct. 2019

 

Blocked the addition of three diseases veterans could receive ‘Agent Orange’ medical benefits and compensation for.

» The Veteran Affairs Secretary at the time, David Schulkin, decided to add the diseases – bladder cancer, hypothyroidism and Parkinson’s-like symptoms – but was blocked by Mick Mulvaney and other White House officials.

» The additions would have made eligible an estimated 83,000 veterans for benefits.

[source]

 

≡ Sept. 26, 2019

 

Said whistleblowers should be treated like spies, implying execution as appropriate retaliation.

“You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart with spies and treason, right? We used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”

» Former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, said Trump’s implied threat amounted to “witness retaliation.”

[source]

 

≡ Aug. 2019

 

Stripped automatic citizenship rights of some children born overseas to U.S. service members and government employees.

» No longer will U.S. military hospitals or diplomatic facilities abroad be considered U.S. soil (and thus, being born on it previously granted one automatic U.S. citizenship).

[source]

 

≡ July 31, 2019

 

Blocked Navy Achievement Medal for prosecutors of  a soldier charge with war crimes (and who Trump pardoned).

 

[source]

 

≡ May 6, 2o19

 

Pardoned former US soldier convicted of murdering an Iraqi prisoner in 2009.

[source]

 

≡ May 28, 2019

 

Claimed credit for veterans healthcare bill – authored by senators John McCain and Bernie Sanders, and signed by President Obama…

» …while simultaneously disparaging the deceased war-hero (and actual sponsor of the bill) Senator John McCain, claiming “McCain didn’t get the job done for our great vets and the VA.”

» Trump has claimed (over 100 times by some counts) to have fought for and signed into law a bill that was written by two of his biggest political rivals, and signed for by his predecessor, President Barack Obama.

[source]

 

≡ Feb. 28, 2019

 

Defended Kim Jong-un following the death of an American citizen who had been imprisoned and tortured in North Korea.

» Trump said of the dictators involvement in American citizen Otto Warmbier torture and death:

“I don’t believe he would have allowed [torture] to happen… I will take him at his word that he didn’t know.”

[source]

 

≡ Feb. 15, 2019

 

Declared a fake national emergency on the southern border to bypass congressional approval for funding.

» The move would divert $8 billion from other sources (including $3.6 billion from military funds) in order to build a border wall – a number which later increased to $7.2 billion.

UPDATE: Ninth Circuit court rules against Trump diverting military funds for border wall.

[source]

 

≡ Jan. 2019

 

Refuted U.S. Intelligence on Afghanistan, North Korea, and the Islamic State; tweeting “Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!”

» While ironically using the wrong form of ‘their’ in the same tweet.

[source]

 

≡ Oct. 20, 2018

 

Rejected CIA conclusions that Saudi Crown Prince MBS ordered the torture and murder of U.S. resident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

» Days after being briefed by U.S. intelligence on the facts, Trump opted to defend the dictatorial-monarch:

“we may never know all the facts… in any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia… It could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!”

» In an obsequious and pandering official White House statement, Trump excused himself for refusing to condemn MBS for murdering an innocent U.S.-based journalist by including the utterly irrelevant and unfounded assertion that that “Khashoggi was an ‘enemy of the state’ and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood” – an false narrative Saudi officials began pushing.

[Thus excusing the targeted dismemberment and murder (in that order) of an American resident for fabricated reasons, which – even if true – does not to excuse having a man hack-sawed to death.]

» Two days later, Trump denied altogether that the CIA ever implicated MBS in the assassination of Khashoggi – despite having earlier announced that he disagreed with their conclusion.

[source]

 

≡ Nov. 18, 2018

 

Disparaged the man who oversaw the killing of Osama Bin Laden, Admiral William H. McRaven, because McRaven criticized him.

[source]

 

≡ Nov. 10, 2018

 

While in Europe, skipped a ceremony with other world leaders to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI.

» Trump claimed he was prevented by light rain – yet, notably, the alleged ‘weather difficulties’ did not prevent any of the other world leaders and officials from the event.

» Two days later, back in the states, Trump also canceled a visit to the Arlington Cemetery for Veteran’s Day.

[source]

 

≡ Oct. 29, 2018

 

Claimed he would use an executive order to revise the U.S. Constitution and end birthright citizenship.

» Enshrined in U.S. Constitutions 14th amendment, birthright citizenship is widely considered to be well out of reach of a presidencies authority to unilaterally change – and as of 2020, Trump has not followed through with his boast.

[source]

 

≡ Aug. 2018

 

Dismantled financial protections for military members against predatory lending.

» The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as run by Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, announced that it will no longer supervise lenders to U.S. service members to protect members from abuse.

[source]

 

≡ Aug. 2018

 

Trumps military parade through Washington, D.C. estimated to have cost taxpayers nearly $100,000,000.

[source]

 

≡ July 16, 2018

 

Russia-U.S. Helsinki Summit: publicly sided with Putin over U.S. intel agency conclusions that Putin interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections.

» In response to a question as to whether Trump believed Putin had interfered with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Trump replied:

“They said they think it’s Russia; I have President Putin, he just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be. I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.”

» Later, when pressed on why he answered that he did not believe Putin was continuing his interference, Trump claimed his reply was meant to be a double-negative, and that he’d in fact meant ‘he didn’t see any reason Putin wouldn’t not be interfering’.

[source]

 

≡ July 2018

 

Instituted a policy to discriminate against Lawful Permanent Residents serving in the military.

» Already subject to enhanced scrutiny in their required background investigations – the Trump administration put forth a policy requiring additional, ambiguously defined criteria be met for an LPR to qualify for service.

» The abrupt change in policy resulted in the immediate discharge of dozens of immigrant enlistees, many of whom did not receive the crucial ‘honorably discharged’ distinction that would afford them a degree of protection from deportation.

 

≡ 2018

 

Asked that wounded veterans not be included in his proposed military parade.

According to The Atlantic:

In a 2018 White House planning meeting for such an event, Trump asked his staff not to include wounded veterans, on grounds that spectators would feel uncomfortable in the presence of amputees. “Nobody wants to see that,” he said.

[source]

 

≡ June 28, 2018

 

First president to use Memorial Day as a chance to hawk personal merchandise and praise himself.

 

 

Donald J. Trump | Facebook (5.28.18)

https://www.facebook.com/DonaldTrump/posts/10161046691395725

[source]

 

≡ Feb. 28, 2018

 

“Take the guns first, go through due process second.”

 

[source]

 

≡ Jan. 1, 2018

 

Apparently doesn’t know the words to national anthem.

 

 

≡ Oct. 23, 2017

 

Lashed out at grieving widow of fallen soldier who said Trump stumbled over her husbands name.

» The alleged offence (forgetting her husbands name) would be relatively minor in itself – but publicly tweet-smearing the credibility of a grieving Gold Star widow to your 10’s of millions of followers? How brave.

 

[source]

 

 

≡ Oct. 18, 2017

 

Claimed to have called ‘virtual all’ the families of fallen soldiers during his term.

» The Associated Press found many had not been contacted, and among those that had been contacted, one was promised a $25,000 check from Trump himself – a promise not followed through with until after the incident came to light months later.

[source]

 

≡ Oct. 16, 2017

 

Amid backlash from failing to call the families of fallen US soldiers, Trump claimed President Obama hadn’t made calls either.

 

» A blatantly false statement, President Obama was known to contact and console the majority of military families who had a relative die in combat – it was not the last time Trump ran afoul of the families of fallen servicemembers.

 

[source]

 

≡ July 26, 2017

 

Declared (by tweet) a ban on ‘transgender individuals’ serving in the U.S. military.

“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow…¹ …Transgender individuals to service in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming…² …victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.³”

» Despite claiming to have consulted with ‘Generals and military experts’, officials at the Pentagon say they were neither been consulted or given notice about the new dictate.

[source]

 

≡ June 13, 2017

 

Blocked the veterans group VoteVets.org on Twitter after they criticized him.

 

[source]

 

≡ May 29, 2017

 

Allegedly said of dead U.S. soldiers: “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?”

» The incident reportedly occurred on a trip to Arlington National Cemetery, while visiting the gravesite of general John Kelly’s veteran son. As reported by The Atlantic:

Trump, while standing by Robert Kelly’s grave, turned directly to his father and said, “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?” Kelly (who declined to comment for this story) initially believed, people close to him said, that Trump was making a ham-handed reference to the selflessness of America’s all-volunteer force. But later he came to realize that Trump simply does not understand non-transactional life choices.

[source]

 

≡ May 9, 2017

 

Fired FBI Director James Comey.

» Comey was fired by Trump via public tweet, only learning of his firing when he saw it on a background TV while speaking to a crowd of FBI agents.

» Has publicly stated that he fired Comey for allowing FBI investigations into Russian election interference and potential collusion with the Trump campaign.

[source]

 

≡ Apr. 2017

 

Praised Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte for his extrajudicial killings of suspected drug dealers & users.

“I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem.”

» U.S. State Department reported in 2015 that over 6,000 Philippines had been killed by “police and unknown vigilantes” in anti-drug operations, with many of them being executed after being detained.

[source]

 

≡ Mar. 4, 2017

 

Claimed President Obama had Trump Tower wiretapped leading up to the 2016 presidential election.

 

» The Department of Justice and FBI affirmed in 2017 that no evidence whatsoever existed to support Trumps claim that President Obama had his ‘wires tapped’.

[source]

 

≡ Feb. 2017

 

Slashed caregiver support to U.S. veterans and military families.

[source]

 

≡ Sept. 7, 2016

 

On Putin:

“If he says great things about me, I’m going to say great things about him. I’ve already said, he is really very much of a leader. I mean, you can say, ‘Oh, isn’t that a terrible thing’—the man has very strong control over a country.”

[source]

 

≡ July 30, 2016

 

Said father of slain U.S. soldier had ‘no right to criticize him’; suggested his wife ‘wasn’t allowed’ to speak due to their Muslim faith.

» Trump further said  claimed that he too had “made a lot of sacrifices“, before literally comparing the death of a soldier for his country to his having “had tremendous success“.

[source]

 

≡ July 18, 2015

 

‘He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero who was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.’

» Trump’s opinion of Senator John McCain’s Vietnam War service and his nearly six years of torture as an American prisoner of war (following his aircraft being shot down in 1967).

 

Trump: “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured” | C-SPAN (7.20.15)

[source]

 

≡ 1993

 

Made his 2nd wife sign prenup that would cut off all child support if their daughter, Tiffany Trump, joined the military.

[source]

 

≡ 1990

 

Said he was impressed by the Chinese governments “power of strength” in the Tiananmen Square massacre:

“When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength. Our country is right now perceived as weak.”

» Trump explained that ‘his problem’ with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was that he didn’t use a “firm enough hand” on protesters – in contrast to China’s handling of pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square which the government suppressed using tanks to kill 100’s, if not 1000’s, of its own defenseless civilians.

[source]

 

≡ 1968

 

Dodged the Vietnam draft using a faked disability.

» Trump has no records of the alleged diagnosis (bone spurs) that prevented him from being eligible for the Vietnam draft, and cannot recall which foot was allegedly affected.

“I had a deferments because I had a foot thing, and I get that deferment for that.”

[source]

 

 

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