Trump’s Pursuit of Ilhan Omar Is an Abuse of Power

new video loaded: Trump’s Pursuit of Ilhan Omar Is an Abuse of Power

Trump’s Pursuit of Ilhan Omar Is an Abuse of Power

Trump’s latest attempt to denaturalize Representative Ilhan Omar is yet another signal of his abuse of power, argues the columnist Jamelle Bouie. In fact, the entire immoral act, according to Bouie, “encapsulates the president’s outright contempt, hostility to, arguably, opposition to the Constitution itself.”

- Of all the things that are unethical, reprehensible and, frankly, immoral about the Trump administration’s pursuit of Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota — “Federal agents carried out a search Monday at the D.C. home of Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar.” — who it is trying to denaturalize, deport and remove from Congress, what’s most striking to me is the way that this whole episode encapsulates the president’s outright contempt, hostility to, arguably opposition to the Constitution itself.

The Constitution is quite clear about the privileges and immunities that members of Congress have. The first is that members of Congress, including members of the House, have broad leeway to speak freely.

What you say in your capacity as a member of Congress is constitutionally protected speech. This is the speech or debate clause of the Constitution.

The second thing is that the Constitution is quite clear that it’s up to the members of each respective house to determine whether a member of their body ought to be removed. Outside actors, including the president, can’t disqualify a member of Congress.

Arguably, even violating the law, even being denaturalized does not remove someone from Congress. What Trump is doing when he’s trying to denaturalize Ilhan Omar — “I’ve always found her to be totally crooked, personally.” — is he’s trying to create or establish this new standard, in which what you say might get you denaturalized, may get you removed from office if you are a member of Congress who is also an immigrant.

Representative Omar, in particular, is a target because she’s Somali. “She should get the hell out.

Throw her the hell out.” “She’s a crooked congressman.” “Ilhan Omar is garbage. She’s garbage.” And the president has been trying to whip up this hate campaign against Somali Americans.

He talks about them in exceedingly ugly and disgusting ways. “Somalia is not even a country.” “And they’re low I.Q.” “They complain and do nothing but [expletive].” “They contribute nothing.” The real power of the presidency, as many scholars have noted over the decades, is rhetoric, is the president’s ability to set the national agenda, to speak, to shape the national culture.

[In unison] “My fellow Americans.” So it has weight. It is meaningful that the president is engaged in routine and regular attacks on Somali Americans simply because they are Somali.

Given the consequences this can have for people’s actual lives, the way it can engender and inculcate actual prejudice, this is as big an abuse of power as any. I think what we should take from it is it is another example of this administration, this White House, this president’s total contempt for the idea that this is a constitutional government and for the idea that the president has any obligation to anyone beyond himself and his own narrow interest.