April Fools? If President Trump really goes to SCOTUS today it will be a first. Maybe he will because birthright citizenship is a biggie, or maybe it’s another head fake? Today’s SCOTUS argument raises an important issue, namely, whether being born on American soil is enough to confer citizenship. Yesterday, Amy Howe from SCOTUSblog did an excellent job on my POTUS program explaining how the court will analyze both the history and text of the 14th Amendment. In the end, I agree with her, and countless other observers, that President Trump’s Executive Order signed on the day Trump 2.0 began will not stand. My friend Elie Honig also provides great analysis in a piece published today in NYMag, which is linked in the newsletter. Elie distills the issue into a concise paragraph:
“When the Supreme Court hears oral argument on birthright citizenship on Wednesday, expect the justices and the advocates to converse on all manner of deep legalese. But in the end it comes down to the simple proposition that if a person has two things at once, he also has one of them; if a person is subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. and Mexico, he is indeed subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. and therefore covered by the 14th Amendment.”
I put this in the category of Trump pursuing a legitimate goal through illegitimate means. There are countless issues in that bucket. And Trump’s association with ending birthright citizenship clouds the underlying merit of a serious conversation as to whether we correctly bestow citizenship. Instead, people just pick teams based on how they view Trump. There is an admittedly cumbersome process to do this correctly. It involves amending the Constitution.
I went to the dentist yesterday for a routine checkup. When I walked into the examination area, the television above the chair was tuned to CNN. The war in Iran was being covered. Barb, the hygienist, said to me “you still want that, right”? I said “yes, thank you”. She proceeded to tell me she was asking because so many others had told her to “turn it off”. Not CNN, necessarily, but the news in general. She said patients “don’t want any more bad news”. I asked what they watch instead. She told me either nothing or shopping or nature programming. I thought that was as valuable as any poll I’ve read recently. Maybe America’s fatigue with bad news explains why Trump will speak to the nation at 9pm ET regarding the war in Iran.
Programming note: Would Trump really pull the U.S. out of NATO? I will ask former Supreme Allied Commander Admiral James Stavridis on today’s radio program. Please watch the video imbedded in today’s newsletter regarding exciting improvements to this newsletter. Thank you.
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