Trump said on Saturday that the Founders wanted him to have immunity, but Alexander Hamilton wrote otherwise in The Federalist Papers.
Trump posted on Truth Social: “Without presidential immunity, the Presidency will lose its power and prestige and, under some leaders, will have no power at all. The Presidency will be consumed by the other branches of government. THAT’S NOT WHAT OUR FOUNDERS WANTED.”
Trump’s statement is absolutely senseless.
The Founders made their vision of executive power and its limits very clear.
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In Federalist 69, Alexander Hamilton wrote to contrast the power of the presidency with that of a king or despot:
The President of the United States would be a popularly elected official for FOUR years; the King of Great Britain is a perpetual and HEREDITARY prince. The one would be susceptible to personal punishment and dishonor; the person of the other is sacred and inviolable. The one would have a QUALIFIED negative on the acts of the legislative body; the other has an ABSOLUTE negative. The one would have the right to command the nation’s military and naval forces; the other, in addition to this right, possesses that of DECLARING war, and of RAISING and REGULATING fleets and armies with his own authority. The one would have a concurrent power with a branch of the legislative in the formation of treaties; the other is the SOLE POSSESSOR of the power to make treaties. The one would have equal concurrent authority in the appointment of positions; the other is the sole author of all nominations.
The one cannot confer any privilege; the other can create inhabitants from foreigners, nobles from commoners; they can erect corporations with all the rights belonging to corporate bodies. The one cannot prescribe rules concerning the nation’s trade or currency; the other is in various respects the arbiter of trade, and in this capacity he can establish markets and fairs, he can regulate weights and measures, he can impose embargoes for a limited time, he can mint money, he can authorize or prohibit the circulation of foreign money. The one has no spiritual jurisdiction; the other is the supreme head and governor of the national church! What response will we give to those who would like to persuade us that such dissimilar things are alike? The same should be given to those who tell us that a government, the entire power of which would be in the hands of the elective and periodic servants of the people, is an aristocracy, a monarchy, and a despotism.
The Founders designed a system where the president is not a king. By design, a president does not have absolute or unlimited power with zero accountability.
Reading the Founders’ words highlights the Supreme Court hearing Trump’s immunity request.
Donald Trump did not have unlimited immunity as president, and he does not have unlimited immunity as a former president.
Hamilton wrote that presidents are not aristocrats, monarchs, or despots.
Presidential power is limited, and no president, no matter how much he wants to be, is above the law.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a member of the White House press pool and a congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
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