On the occasion of his new book, Defender in Chief: Donald Trump’s Fight for Presidential Power, Hoover Institution visiting fellow and Berkeley Law School professor John Yoo joins the show to make a spirited case against the criticisms of President Trump for his supposed disruption of constitutional rules and norms.
The conventional wisdom is that Trump is a threat to the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution. 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, 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.
