What did Donald Trump do today?
He said he had the power to "ban fishing" and in all likelihood probably believes that he does.
Today is Constitution Day. By law, all federal agencies and federally funded schools are required to provide educational programming on the history of the American Constitution on September 17th.
Trump's unofficial contribution came during a disjointed digression in a fundraising speech for his PAC. It started off with Trump complaining about a Biden-era restriction on boat speeds close to shore, and then became a story in which the lifelong New York City resident said that the only president who loved the outdoors more than him was Teddy Roosevelt.
He also became visibly confused while trying to explain an executive order he had just signed, and needed to ask Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum what was in it.
Then, he claimed that he had the power as president to ban all fishing in the United States.
Referring to the billionaire CEO of Bass Pro Shops, Johnny Morris, he said this:
TRUMP: I could have made it so you couldn’t sell. You couldn’t sell anything. I could have banned fishing. I’ll tell you what. The power of this office is crazy. I could have banned fishing and driven Johnny right the hell out of business. Okay. I think I’m going to do that. Just maybe just a quick order, just for a day or two, till he calls me and he says, "Please, President, please, you’re putting me out of business, sir."
Trump often "jokes" about doing things he has no legal authority to do, like running for a third term. In this case, he probably was actually joking about trying to do it—but he also likely believes that he could. Trump has spoken in all seriousness about how Article II of the Constitution gives him "the right to do whatever I want as president."
Why does this matter?
- It's not surprising if someone who thinks they have the powers of a dictator acts like one, but it's still a problem.
- Presidents should know, and care, and be able to remember what was in the papers they just signed.