President Trump stunned many conservatives this week, when, during his made-for-TV forum on guns, he scoffed at constitutional barriers to disarming individuals who could be a potential threat. “Take the guns first, go through due process second,” Trump said.
Many conservatives, even those disposed to defending Trump, recoiled at the statement. “Imagine if Barack Obama had said that?” queried Fox’s Tucker Carlson. “Just ignore due process and confiscating guns? Obama would have been denounced as a dictator.”
Though it seems that Trump has backed off from his position following a meeting with the NRA, the episode should be seen as a cautionary tale for conservatives who otherwise cheer on his flouting of norms, and disregard for process, when the target is a group who they loathe.
Trump, who hasn’t spent a significant amount of time studying policy, comes to any issue with a limited understanding. He is mainly guided by impulses. His statement on due process and guns wasn’t actually that surprising when viewed as part of his broader law and order rhetoric — his desire to seem like a tough guy who isn’t going to let petty procedural hurdles get in the way of doing what needs to be done.
Relatively early in the campaign, Trump declared, “One of the first things I do in terms of executive order if I win, will be to sign a strong, strong statement that will go out to the country, out to the world, that anybody killing a policeman, policewoman, police officer, anybody killing the police officer — death penalty.” The statement showed an authoritarian streak, revealed ignorance of the separation of powers, and of the different roles of states and the federal government.
At a rally ahead of the 2016 New Hampshire primary, Trump promoted the sentiment that Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was a “pussy” for equivocating about the use of waterboarding. Both during the campaign and as recently as this year, Trump has casually talked about taking “a strong look at our country’s libel laws” to go after journalists.
In all of these cases, and many more, conservatives cheered Trump as a tough guy who is a refreshing contrast to the mealy-mouthed politicians. Trump supporters were happy because his targets were enemies: cop killers, terrorists, and journalists. Those who raised objections, constitutional or otherwise, to what he was saying, were dismissed as weak or in league with the Left.
But processes exist for a reason. They are our protection against lawlessness and totalitarianism.
In fact, this gets to the heart of the problem that Trump critics have had with his wanton dismissal of norms. Regardless of whether he is acting to advance ends you may agree with at a given moment, at another moment, eroding precedents can lead to executives imposing policies on which you’d vociferously disagree.
Like many Trump statements, his comments about due process and guns are unlikely to translate into any tangible policy. But the episode still presents a good opportunity for his supporters to reconsider whether they should be so sanguine about the long-term implications of his rejection of the concept of procedural norms.
