Donald Trump on Thursday continued his tradition of making bombastic, authoritarian policy statements that reveal his own ignorance about how the presidency works.
“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,” Trump said speaking to a police group in New Hampshire. “It’s gonna happen, okay?”
In reality, thankfully, the president does not have the authority to order somebody executed.
Laws governing the use of the death penalty can be made by Congress or state legislatures. Though the federal government could pursue the death penalty in federal cases (such as the Boston bomber), generally they are handled at the state level. There have been 200 federal death penalty cases brought to trial since 1988.
More pertinently, there’s this whole other part of constitutional government known as the judicial branch, where judges and juries have the ultimate say as to whether somebody is put to death.
Not only does Trump’s statement reveal ignorance and a frightening view of executive power, it also shows one of the drawbacks of thinking that a “businessman” would be best suited to run the country.
When a chief executive orders something, it happens. But that isn’t how it works with a public chief executive, who is bound by laws and numerous checks on the use of power. Those who make the transition from the private to the public sector often struggle to grasp this distinction.
Even Mitt Romney, who had served as a public executive before running for office, fell into this trap, sometimes speaking as if as president he’d be running the U.S. economy.
