07/02/2024
IF YOU CAN KEEP IT
On September 17, 1787, as Benjamin Franklin exited the Constitutional Convention, Elizabeth Willing asked him, “What kind of government do we have?” Franklin famously replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
On July 1, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) seemingly answered Franklin’s concern by refusing to uphold the principles of the republic. Overcome by their own ideology and the potential election of a leader with unchecked anger and corruption, they issued an opinion in Trump v. United States that threatens to end the “Great American Experiment” in democracy and self-rule. This decision removes practical limits on executive authority and grants absolute immunity for all “core” acts of any president, effectively giving the President of the United States dictatorial power. Unlike traditional royalty, however, who felt a duty to care for commoners (“Noblesse Oblige”), this new power structure lacks such obligations.
It is likely that Donald Trump will not face trial or sentencing before the election. If he cannot be held accountable for his actions, cannot be stopped from replacing government employees with loyalists, and can use his attorney general to exact retribution against perceived enemies (including the media), he and his SCOTUS appointees will have transformed the US into a banana republic. The decision in Trump leaves us with few, if any, legal guardrails.
John F. Kennedy once said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable.” The American people, having never lived under a dictator in more than 200 years, now face a critical moment. On November 5, 2024, the American people have one final chance to answer Franklin’s challenge. “We the People,” then become, “We the Jury.” We can vote to find Trump guilty, keep him out of office, and eventually pass a constitutional amendment to ensure that no person, not even a president, is above the law.
