A couple of hundred years ago Americans, fed up of the arbitrary violation of the English monarchy over the rights of individuals, signed the U.S. Constitution as the highest law of the land, which among other things, enshrines the separation of powers and specifies the grounds and procedures for an executive to be removed from office.
Our constitution and form of government is admired worldwide, and is one reason why people seeking to exercise their individual freedoms flock to our shores. It stands in stark contrast to totalitarian governments where the powers of the executive are unchecked and maintained through force. In a recent interview, Trump threatened his political opponents with violence, claiming he has the support of the police, the military, and the Bikers for Trump. He said if the Democrats exercise their constitutional responsibility to hold him responsible for obstruction of justice, violation of the emoluments clause, conspiring with a foreign government to rig the 2016 election, or any of the other impeachable offenses he may have committed, things could be “very bad.”
Though it seems unlikely the military or police would, as institutions, commit treason against the United States to join in a tyrant in overthrowing our Constitution, it seems Trump supporters might wish to reconsider their support for a president who so casually dismisses the freedoms our forefathers fought and died for.
Dave King
Amherst