# Surprisingly, President Trump just violated the Constitution **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 27, 2025, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517 "2025-08-27T02:29:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/21 "2025-08-28T21:01:55Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > So instead of dangerous burning, what if the offender uses it to pick up dog poo? What about selling MAGA hats as pooper-scoopers? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/22 "2025-08-28T21:23:48Z")
What are the odds that this Supreme Court would respect a 5-4 decision made a half century ago? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/23 "2025-08-29T01:33:42Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > That _is_ the way to go after flag burners, and if you read the [text of the executive order](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/prosecuting-burning-of-the-american-flag/), that’s exactly what they’re proposing to do: A bunch of the Trump executive orders I have seen, including this one: a. Are obviously meant to order something illegal. b. Say that the law wil be followed. In those cases, I take the exec order seriously but not quite literally. The idea is to outlaw all flag burning, not just serious fire hazard situations. As for burning stuff being generally illegal, it often has a slight penalty, such as for disorderly conduct, while the flag desecration penalties are high. As I recall, in at least one of the constitutional flag burning cases, the ancillary charges were dismissed. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/24 "2025-08-29T01:52:49Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > You’re attacking the headline summary, not the actual text of the executive order, which is concerned with “American Flag desecration conducted in a manner that is likely to incite imminent lawless action”, not ceremonies that respectful dispose of old flags. Right-wingers have been routinely engaging in American flag desecration for my entire life. Think this will be enforced against pop-country singers wearing flags as bandanas? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/25 "2025-08-29T01:59:34Z")
[![](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/trump-ticket-scalping-kid-rock.jpg?w=1581&h=1054&crop=1) ](https://www.rollingstone.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/trump-ticket-scalping-kid-rock.jpg?w=1581&h=1054&crop=1) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/26 "2025-08-29T02:06:20Z")
To be fair, whatever is on that gaudy outfit is not the Flag of the United States. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/27 "2025-08-29T02:09:32Z")
So we can burn it? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/28 "2025-08-29T02:19:24Z")
With the occupant in it, preferably. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/29 "2025-08-29T02:37:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Right-wingers have been routinely engaging in American flag desecration for my entire life. Think this will be enforced against pop-country singers wearing flags as bandanas? Not to mention the number of flags that are left hanging in inclement weather, tattered and torn from trucks/boats, not taken down or put up with proper handling, etc and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/30 "2025-08-29T04:30:43Z")
Can we imprison TFG for repeated molestation of the American flag? > **[74 Trump Hugging Flag Stock Photos, High-Res Pictures, and Images - Getty Images](https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/trump-hugging-flag)** > > Explore Authentic Trump Hugging Flag Stock Photos & Images For Your Project Or Campaign. Less Searching, More Finding With Getty Images. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/31 "2025-08-29T05:02:50Z")
> [@RAWDuke](#): > > Couldn’t we just get a few thousand to burn Trump flags instead? Flags? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/32 "2025-08-29T12:17:13Z")
Kid Ross. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/33 "2025-08-29T12:25:25Z")
So far, I think you have this right: > **[Flag burning incident near White House leads to arrest hours after Trump's...](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/man-arrested-burning-flag-white-house-trump-executive-order-rcna226727)** > > The arrested man identified himself as a combat veteran and said he was burning the American flag in protest of an executive order Trump signed Monday targeting flag burning. > The Secret Service said in a statement that it detained the man around 6:15 p.m. ET “for igniting an object” and that he was turned over to U.S. Park Police. > Park Police said they arrested the man for violating a statute that prohibits lighting a fire in a public park. But isn’t the important thing – really and truly – that this is red _meat_ for the red _hats,_ a non-trivial number of whom are still seething over the possibility that their Dear Leader may not be the QAnon demigod they were told he was? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/34 "2025-08-29T16:39:50Z")
Yes. Unfortunately, that guy burned the flag in a way that gave the police the fig leaf needed to claim they weren’t arresting him for flag-burning specifically. We need lots of people to burn the flag in an indisputably legal way that gives no fig leaf. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2025, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517/35 "2025-08-29T23:57:29Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > We need lots of people to burn the flag in an indisputably legal way that gives no fig leaf. I wonder if there might be an argument for selective prosecution. If 100 people burn things in public parks, and the police only arrest the 1 who burned a flag, it’ll be hard for them to argue that they’re just upholding the law against burning irrespective of the object being burned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprisingly-president-trump-just-violated-the-constitution/1022517.md?page=1)