On Thursday, a lawyer for Donald Trump argued to the Supreme Court that the president could assassinate a political rival and be immune from prosecution.
That’s not even the most shocking part. No, the most shocking part is that the MAGA Supreme Court justices agreed with him.1
The court heard arguments as to whether Trump can be tried for attempting to overthrow the 2020 presidential election, and while it’s hard to be surprised by anything Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, or any of the other MAGA justices say, the comments coming from the bench were downright terrifying.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted for breaking ANY law that doesn’t specifically mention “the president” in the statute. Justices Amy Coney Barrett and John Roberts tried to qualify Trump’s actions as “official” behavior. Justice Clarence Thomas sat in judgment of this case despite the fact that his wife participated in the insurrection. Justice Samuel Alito said that presidents must be immune from prosecution or else it would … *checks notes* … “destabilize our democracy”?!2
It’s obvious that this court is going to at least delay the Department of Justice’s January 6 trial against Trump until after the election, if not declare at least some of his actions immune. But more important: The Supreme Court has made it clear that if Donald Trump is reelected, they will give him legal cover to commit any act he wishes—the absolute nightmare scenario.
Our ONLY recourse to save the nation from a lawless Trump presidency is defeating him soundly at the ballot box. MoveOn has the plan in place to do just that—Robert Reich has said it, The New York Times has said it, years of experience and intensive research have said it! But as a grassroots organization, we can see this plan through to November only if our members step up, and we are worryingly behind in our fundraising goals right now.
When America was founded, the intention was to move away from the kings and despots of colonial Europe. Thomas Paine said that as America has no king, “In America, the rule of law is king.”3
The current Supreme Court majority seems poised to throw that 250-year-old ideal out the window.
And here are just some of the potential crimes against our democracy that Trump has said he wants to commit:
- Gut civil service positions in favor of political appointees to do his bidding. Trump already has a plan in place to replace thousands of agency employees with his own sycophants, ready to roll back civil rights and undo environmental protections.4
- Weaponize the FBI to jail his political opposition. As Trump recently said, “If I happen to be president and I see somebody who’s doing well and beating me very badly, I say, ‘Go down and indict them.’ They’d be out of business.”5
- Incite violence against anyone he deems a threat. Trump hasn’t just said he wants to do this; he has done it. As recently as this month, he has posted an image of President Biden hog-tied in the back of a pickup truck—a serious crime for anyone else.6
Kendall, this is exactly what fascism looks like. And the MAGA majority of the Supreme Court, perhaps our most important check on unfettered power, seems perfectly OK to let it happen.
We, the grassroots, are the last bastion standing between our democracy, our civil rights, the country we love—and Donald Trump. If you have been waiting to donate until it was “the right time,” believe us when we say, this is that moment.
Will you donate $9 to MoveOn’s election program and help defeat Donald Trump and his MAGA movement?
The race between Biden and Trump right now is statistically tied.7 Just as in 2020, battleground states will likely be decided by thousands of votes, not millions. The question is how we get the thousands of votes we need to win.
Obviously, Trump has voters behind him who do not care what crime he commits—they will vote for him anyway. We are not spending a dime trying to change their minds.
Instead, our $32 million election program is targeting the voters who came out in 2016 but have become disengaged since then. Interest in the presidential election is at a 20-year low, and it is critical that we reengage people with the democratic process and let them know what is at stake in November.8 As The New York Times says, these are the voters who will decide the election, if they turn out.9
Our Vote Mobilizer and education programs are reaching out to the 1.4 million “surge voters” in battleground states to take the Trump threat to our democracy out of the abstract and let them know exactly how our lives will change with a second Trump term. We are talking about bodily autonomy and abortion rights. We’re talking about climate disasters and clean drinking water. We’re talking about an economy that works for the 99% instead of just the 1%. But how many people we reach depends on you.
We need voters to understand these stakes before we deploy our vote tripling tactic, the get-out-the-vote method as much as five times more effective than other tactics. This is the plan that will stop Trump’s march to the White House—but we cannot wait until September to kick it into high gear. This plan must be funded now.
Thanks for all you do.
–Mohammad, Kelsey, Alexis, Emily, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. Post on X by Marc E. Elias, April 25, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189758?t=5&akid=381912%2E37680734%2ExMMz4A
2. “Donald Trump had a fantastic day in the Supreme Court today,” Vox, April 25, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189759?t=7&akid=381912%2E37680734%2ExMMz4A
3. “2.5 Primary Source: Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776),” National Constitution Center, accessed April 26, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189760?t=9&akid=381912%2E37680734%2ExMMz4A
4. “A guide to Project 2025, the extreme right-wing agenda for the next Republican administration,” Media Matters for America, March 30, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189537?t=11&akid=381912%2E37680734%2ExMMz4A
5. “Trump says on Univision he could weaponize FBI, DOJ against his enemies,” The Washington Post, November 10, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/189536?t=13&akid=381912%2E37680734%2ExMMz4A
6. “Donald Trump May Have Just Committed a New Crime—Attorney,” Newsweek, April 1, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189761?t=15&akid=381912%2E37680734%2ExMMz4A
7. “Biden gains on Trump in series of polls,” The Hill, April 25, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189762?t=17&akid=381912%2E37680734%2ExMMz4A
8. “Poll: Election interest hits new low in tight Biden-Trump race,” NBC News, April 21, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/189763?t=19&akid=381912%2E37680734%2ExMMz4A
9. “They Could Decide the 2024 Election. If They Vote.” The New York Times Magazine, March 1, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/187753?t=21&akid=381912%2E37680734%2ExMMz4A
Want to support MoveOn’s work? The MAGA movement’s book bans have forced teachers and librarians across the country to remove books from their shelves and censor what young people can learn. MoveOn is fighting back, including by filling a “Banned Bookmobile” with books that the far right has banned and driving it to key cities and towns to raise the visibility of book bans, hand out banned books for free, and bring people together to stop censorship. To keep up the fight against book bans and the MAGA politicians who support them, we need your help.
Will you make a gift to power MoveOn’s critical work?
MOVEON POLITICAL ACTION, https://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. MoveOn Political Action – PO Box 96142, Washington, D.C. 20090-6142.