Donald Trump set off a firestorm of criticism over the weekend with a tweet.
It might seem like nothing new, but critics say the President’s recent post is more than controversial—they say it’s dictatorial.
“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” Trump posted on his social media site Truth Social as well as on Elon Musk’s X platform (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. The White House account on X also shared the message alongside Trump’s official presidential photograph.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]A version of the phrase is often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, the French general who crowned himself emperor in 1804 and was known for his authoritarian rule—and whom Trump has quoted before.
Trump’s latest Napoleonic remark has rankled Democrats and liberal commentators. Sen. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) responded to Trump on X: “Spoken like a true dictator.” New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie described it as “the single most un-american and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an american president” on social media platform Bluesky.
Some anti-Trump conservatives have also voiced their unease. Anthony Scaramucci, who briefly served as White House communications director during Trump’s first term before becoming a vocal intraparty critic, reposted Trump’s statement, adding: “Wants to be a dictator. If you don’t see it it means you don’t want to.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared to implicitly rebuke Trump’s post by resharing an essay he’d written in 2010, titled “The Presidency and the Constitution,” in which he wrote: “A president who slights the Constitution is like a rider who hates his horse: he will be thrown, and the nation along with him. The president solemnly swears to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. He does not solemnly swear to ignore, overlook, supplement, or reinterpret it.”
Dan McLaughlin, a senior writer at the National Review who wrote in November about writing in Pence for the 2024 election, posted on X about Trump’s declaration: “This is some un-American monarchical nonsense. The president is above *some* laws, because there are things legally only he may do. But his entire office remains a creature of law.”
Bill Kristol, former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle and a prominent Trump critic, posted on Bluesky, “We’re getting into real Führerprinzip territory here”—referencing the Nazi Germany principle that Führer Adolf Hitler’s word was above the law.
Billy Binion, a reporter for libertarian magazine Reason, posted on X: “I know many conservatives still care about the Constitution. But it is genuinely depressing that the leader of the Republican Party is someone who is openly OK with violating the rule of law as long as it serves his political ends. That’s…bad. I miss real conservatism.”
Former RNC Chair Reince Priebus, Trump’s first chief of staff during his first term, dismissed the criticisms of Trump’s post, excusing the provocative statement as mere trolling and “catnip for the media.”
“It’s entertainment for Trump. It’s a distraction,” Priebus said on ABC News’ This Week on Sunday. “This is what the President does.”
Some of Trump’s supporters, however, have welcomed the Napoleonic declaration. “Thank you, President Trump. We love you,” controversial right-wing activist Laura Loomer responded to Trump’s post on X.
Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency, reposted Trump’s message on X, appending 14 U.S. flag emojis.
And right-wing commentator Jack Posobiec also shared Trump’s message, adding “America will be saved” and “What must be done will be done.”
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It’s not the first time Trump or his allies have suggested that the rule of law should not get in the way of his agenda. As the Trump Administration already faces dozens of lawsuits, Vice President J.D. Vance posted on X on Feb. 9 that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also previously accused the media of “fearmongering” about a “constitutional crisis,” saying during a news briefing on Feb. 12: “The real constitutional crisis is taking place within our judicial branch, where district court judges in liberal districts across the country are abusing their power to unilaterally block President Trump’s basic executive authority.”
The Constitution, however, established the three separate branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) specifically to act as a system of checks and balances—with the courts, in particular, empowered to rule on the constitutionality of laws and presidential actions.
As for the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity last year, it stipulated that Presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken within their “constitutional authority” and presumptive immunity for other official acts, but that: “The President enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law.”
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