Trump Says the U.S. Is ‘Stupid’ While Ranting About Birthright Citizenship

The president, who posted on Truth Social that we're all "SUCKERS," seems to think he understands the United States Constitution better than the Supreme Court.

Politics
Trump Says the U.S. Is ‘Stupid’ While Ranting About Birthright Citizenship

On Inauguration Day, Donald Trump performatively signed a bunch of executive orders, most of which have since been challenged by courts across the country. Among them was his pledge to end birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause and grants citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil.

Specifically, Trump’s order said this would no longer apply to babies born after February 19, which would have ended a more than 150-year-old Supreme Court precedent—but three federal appeals courts quickly issued nationwide injunctions to block it. Then, in March, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court for an emergency intervention to limit the power of the lower courts. (According to the Associated Press, judges have issued 40 nationwide injunctions since January.) On Thursday, the court heard oral arguments, marking the fourth time since 1971 that the court agreed to take on an emergency request.

Technically, the court isn’t ruling on whether ending birthright citizenship is unconstitutional; they’re ruling on whether lower courts can issue injunctions that apply nationwide. But, of course, if they rule that lower courts can’t issue a nationwide injunction, that could effectively give Trump permission to end birthright citizenship. Politico wrote of this case-within-a-case that it’s “perhaps the most high-profile case of the year, but it’s not clear what exactly the court will be deciding.”

The administration’s main argument for ending birthright citizenship is that it was a slavery-era amendment that shouldn’t apply to immigrants. (The NRA must be shaking.) Trump, of course, hopped on Truth Social ahead of arguments Thursday morning to give his (very dumb) take.

“Big case today in the United States Supreme Court. Birthright Citizenship was not meant for people taking vacations to become permanent Citizens of the United States of America, and bringing their families with them, all the time laughing at the ‘SUCKERS’ that we are!” Trump wrote. “The United States of America is the only Country in the World that does this, for what reason, nobody knows — But the drug cartels love it!”

Quick side note: This week, independent journalist Luis Chaparro and the Associated Press reported that the Trump administration recently made a secret deal with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s son, Ovidio Guzmán Lopez, who is a top-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel and currently in U.S. custody. The deal allowed 17 of Guzmán Lopez’s family members to enter the U.S., including El Chapo’s ex-wife and daughter. Anyway.

Trump continued: “We are, for the sake of being politically correct, a STUPID Country but, in actuality, this is the exact opposite of being politically correct, and it is yet another point that leads to the dysfunction of America.” I agree that we are a stupid country, made even more stupid by the fact that half the U.S. got brainwashed into electing Trump to a second term.

“Birthright Citizenship is about the babies of slaves. As conclusive proof, the Civil War ended in 1865, the Bill went to Congress less than a year later, in 1866, and was passed shortly after that,” Trump continued. “It had nothing to do with Illegal Immigration for people wanting to SCAM our Country, from all parts of the World, which they have done for many years.”

The 14th Amendment was adopted in July 1868, overturning the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, which ruled that African Americans were not U.S. citizens, even if they were free. The court upheld the decision in 1898 with U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark, which ruled that, yes, children of immigrants were granted U.S. citizenship under the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause.

“It had to do with Civil War results, and the babies of slaves who our politicians felt, correctly, needed protection,” Trump wrongly concluded. “Please explain this to the Supreme Court of the United States.”

The court, which appeared divided after Thursday’s arguments, is expected to rule on the case by the end of June or July. I wonder how many more times Trump will express fascination with the word “groceries” before then.


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