On Inauguration Day, President Trump, like his predecessors, swore to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
But in recent days he has said he isn’t so sure about that commitment.
In an interview with NBC News that aired Sunday, Mr. Trump said “I don’t know” when asked whether he needed to uphold the Constitution as his administration tries to conduct the largest deportation operation in American history.
His remark came as part of a broader exchange over due process and who is afforded it, even though the Fifth Amendment guarantees it for every individual on American soil. Mr. Trump repeatedly said he wasn’t sure whether everyone is entitled to due process.
Mr. Trump’s extraordinary stance on the issue provides a window into his belief that the legal system should not prevent him from immediately deporting people who entered the United States illegally.
On Monday, Mr. Trump once again cast doubt on due process and how it would impede his mass deportation campaign, demonstrating he has little patience for individuals to have their day in court.
“The courts have all of a sudden, out of nowhere, they’ve said maybe you’re going to have to have trials,” the president said Monday in the Oval Office. “We’re going to have five million trials?”