Watching Trump, Seeing Nixon
By Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson
One thing is for certain, the 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, knows little about the true function of government, the history of our democracy and the fundamental importance of our Constitution, the document that guides our nation.
Mr. Trump may understand business and the entertainment industry, but he has proven in the past two years that he has little knowledge of how our democratic society functions, nor the significance of our three independent branches of government. It seems that he is best suited for a 17th century European monarchy.
A ringmaster and bully, Mr. Trumps seems to believe that the Supreme Court is his personal bastion of legal advertisers, and that the Congress is his legislative playground whose members will jump when he says jump, and kiss his ring when he extends his hand. Oh how delusional!
Mr. Trump does not seem to understand that one of the functions given to the House of Representatives is oversight of the executive branch of government. Any historian, if the president were to ask, would correctly inform him that the founders of this nation expressly placed that role in the Constitution so that a chief executive could not do as he or she wished after climbing out of bed in the late morning.
I am not certain if the founders anticipated that one day the leader of the nation would be an individual with the qualities of Mr. Trump, who seems to believe that he has supreme power, and that only his glass will hold water.
A case in point is Mr. Trump’s refusal to allow past and current members of his administration to testify before congressional panels that are seeking answers or explanations that the public have every right to know.
Mr. Trump, with the attitude of an heir to a throne, has instructed people to refuse to appear. He states that their information is privileged, but most astute people know that he simply wants to conceal something unfavorable.
He has also claimed privilege over information that the Congress has requested for review. In the case of the Census he supports his Labor Secretary who was not forthcoming while appearing before a congressional panel.
Sadly, the 45th president does not seem to understand that his unwillingness to cooperate with Congress has serious consequences. President Nixon discovered that before he left office. Mr. Trump should learn from Mr. Nixon’s experience!
Congresswoman Johnson represents the 30th congressional district of Texas in the United States House of Representatives, where she chairs the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
