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UK: Defending the “Defender in Chief”: John Yoo on Trump’s Fight for Presidential Power
On the occasion of his new book, Defender in Chief: Donald Trump’s Fight for Presidential Power, Hoover visiting fellow and Berkeley Law School professor John Yoo joins the show to make a spirited case against the criticisms of Donald Trump for his supposed disruption of constitutional rules and norms. The conventional wisdom is that Donald Trump is a threat to the rule of law and the US Constitution. Mainstream media outlets have reported fresh examples of alleged executive overreach or authoritarian White House decisions nearly every day of his presidency. In the 2020 primaries, the candidates have rushed to accuse Trump of destroying our democracy and jeopardizing our nation’s very existence. In his book and on this show, John Yoo argues the opposite: that the Founders would have seen Trump as returning to their vision of presidential power, even at his most controversial and outrageous. It’s a fascinating and often humorous discussion that could not be more timely.
Recorded on July 29, 2020
Published in General
Can’t wait to watch. Gots to buy me the book too!
I wonder if the reason Justices never go right is because of the nomination process. When the Dems nominate they seldom hesitate to nominate far left ideologue candidates. whom often have little trouble being confirmed. If a nominee is really qualified, Republicans will confirm without much of a fight. However when Republicans nominate fight wing candidate (Bork, Thomas, etc) the Democrats will bring every weapon at hand to the fight. In reaction Republican Presidents nominate very moderate candidates with little track record in hopes of avoiding a fight. These moderates are more likely to drift. Now we’ve seen with Kavanaugh a moderate candidate that the Dems will stop at nothing to try derail Republican nominees regardless of of temperament and qualification.
Peter,
John is so very right about this. The Constitution didn’t accidentally make the executive branch independent from the legislative branch. It is totally explicit in the federalist papers. I think it is an American innovation that has helped the American Constitution stand the test of time.
It is the Dems & living Constitution buffs who are out in left field. When Roberts twists himself into a pretzel to accommodate them he is making a huge mistake. They are simply wrong and motivated by crass political gain. Yoo is right down the center of the Constitutional fairway here. Roberts ought to be listening. We already know he won’t.
Regards,
Jim