Ret. Gen. John Allen says that Trump could cause a civil military crisis if he tries to give the military illegal orders. It seems obvious to me that they should disobey such orders. The problem I see is that people have followed illegal orders in the recent past; torture is one example. So why should we feel confident that they wouldn’t follow such orders from Trump? Couldn’t he just sack any general who refuses to obey him? The solution to such things is, of course, impeachment, but can we count on a Republican controlled or obstructed congress to impeach and convict?
Conceivably, SCOTUS could order the arrest of a President in an extreme case for contempt if he ignored a court ruling. Given that SCOTUS basically decides what the law is, they could claim such a power for themselves just by saying so, and then deputize Capitol Police who are willing to go get the President and haul him off.
And WTF exactly is this based on? SCOTUS ordering the arrest of the President is fantasy. They have no power to do anything of the sort.
There’s an additional article to the Constitution, written in disappearing ink, that empowers the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to have anyone he wants arrested and executed. Forensic graphologists identify the author as John Marshall. This additional article was a closely held secret until Trump spilled the beans.
There are rumors that Dick Cheney tried to edit it and substitute Vice-President for Chief Justice. His plans were thwarted by the necessity for heart surgery, which had the effect of extending his tragically long life. Also, the disappearing ink.
Rudy Giuliani said similar things at the RNC. (“There is no next election. This is it.”)
It really strikes me as classic psychological projection. “Oh, really, Republicans? If the Democrat wins it’s The End of the World? :dubious: Y’all sure you don’t maybe have that backwards?”
“Trump Trying To Squirm Out Of Debates?” is the headline on cnn.com as of this post.
It would appear that the mainstream media has finally given up on the “Teach the controversy” approach to news and has become willing to call out Trump on his alpha-male BS.
If Trump wants to rule like a Soviet dictator, he can learn what a dacha is and how the Soviets used them.
A dacha is a nice vacation home, typically on the Black Sea, because that was prime vacation real estate in the USSR. Every high-ranking member of the classless society’s upper class had one; they were nice and secluded and free from the hustle and bustle of Moscow. Typically, people went there of their own free will. Typically, people stayed of their own free will.
Twenty-five years ago this month, Gorbachev went to his dacha in Crimea. The USSR was in dire straits; they’d lost the war in Afghanistan, their economy was melting down due to its own internal contradictions, and the glasnost and perestroika reforms had spiraled to the point the union republics wanted real autonomy. Given the context, it’s unsurprising that Gorbachev planned to return to Moscow in time to sign a treaty which would outlaw the Soviet Union forever. The hardliners within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union didn’t like that, and arranged to extend Gorby’s vacation in a house which was suddenly and explicably without reliable communications with the outside world.
Long story short, the hardliners created a State Committee of the State of Emergency, tanks rolled into Moscow, Latvia declared independence, Yeltsin climbed a tank, and the USSR was dead by the end of the month.
My point is, there are ways. SCOTUS couldn’t do it, but a small group of people within the White House could; having a few years of Vice President Pence as effective Commander in Chief probably wouldn’t be entirely unprecedented in our history. There are persistent rumors that Reagan lost his jellybeans during his second term, if not before, and stories about how Wilson’s wife took over after his stroke. It wouldn’t be pretty, but it wouldn’t be a yuuge problem, either.
Unsatisfied with 2 days of coverage showing him attacking a deceased veteran and his family, Trump decides that he prefers a third day of the same, tweeting this an hour ago…
" Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over T.V. doing the same - Nice!"
As a Dutch person, I can say one thing that might be reassuring. President Trump, if he met other Western leaders, would rather provoke pity (with the American people!) then outrage. Most leaders know by now what kind of person he is, and most have experience with narcissts.
They are adult enough to pamper the guy with State Banquets, to let him shake the Queens hand, and then to make the real deal with some rational, *reasonable *official behind Trumps back. And they will probably laugh a lot behind Trumps back at their summits.
Well, that’s the problem.
If Trump wins, the most assholish, least reasonable faction of the Republican Party gets into power in the Executive Branch and, likely, in the Legislative Branch as well, because elections tend to have secondary effects like that due to how our ballots work. His Vice President would be Pence, who isn’t as floridly insane as Trump but is still a hard-line extreme conservative with fixed beliefs utterly contradicted by all science and reason. There’s no reason to believe anyone else Trump drags into office behind him would be more reasonable. Given that high-level cabinet positions are appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate, it’s likely all of the officials in the Executive branch would be the kinds of people Trump and his followers like.
The less insane Republicans would attempt to start their own party, but that’s not a simple thing in this country, and they couldn’t get into office for two more years in any event, and then they’d be running for seats in Congress, not the Presidency.
They don’t have the power of judicial review, but they interpreted the Constitution to grant themselves that power.
It is not a stretch to suggest that a court could arrest the President for contempt, even a lower court. If a court issues a ruling and an official flouts it, they go to jail. See: that lady from Kentucky who didn’t want to sign marriage certificates for gays. The President is not above the law, therefore if he violates a court order, the court can order his arrest.
Josh Marshall from TPM has a great analysis about the Trump-Khan thing, surmising that everything Trump does is about dominance ritual, and he’s incapable of not lashing out when attacked, no matter who attacks him.
Mike Pence, 30 hours after it all began, in a statement to the press, says the Khans should be “cherished.” Apparently, he didn’t send that memo to the guy he’s running with.
Can a president pardon himself, and anyone who physically defends him?
Maybe you’re right that international affairs would work themselves out somehow, I’m skeptical but maybe.
But sitting here in Pennsylvania, I’m just as concerned about domestic affairs; things like court appointments, civil rights, environmental issues (which are critical to the whole world), healthcare issues (which are critical to many Americans, myself and family members included), etc.
Would we even be able to openly continue to speak our minds on boards like this? Probably, but I’m not 100% convinced.
What about the right-wing bullies that exist everywhere in this country? Will they be emboldened and allowed to get away with things that are at least discouraged at the moment?
And then there’s the possible Putin connection…
Maybe he’s hoping if the shit really hits the fan and Trump is ousted as the candidate he can get the nomination by default? “Did you see? I was totally against all that. Everyone saw that right? Right?”
So “Cherish” is a word he’s using to break up The Association between him and Trump?
And thereafter follows confusion when nobody’s sure who exactly is supposed to carry out such an arrest and if it’s really legal to do so. What if the Secret Service resists the federal marshal (or whoever) shows up at the White House? What if we have a bunch of crazy armed Tea Partiers or Bundy-ites (to coin a term) surrounding the White House to protect him? What if Congress tries to impeach one or several justices. What if Putin uses the confusion to move into the Ukraine in force, or worse?
I’m envisioning something like the tanks surrounding the Kremlin and the demise of the Soviet Union. Crazy? Maybe. Probably. But even if it’s less dramatic than all that, what happens to the dollar and to the world economy?
Well, you’d be the first.
Well…he doesn’t want to risk pissing off Trump now 
It’s a fine line he’s walking.