Following an motion on Wednesday by the U.S. Division of Transportation (DOT) to restrict New York Metropolis from finishing up a beforehand authorised congestion pricing program, President Donald Trump bragged in regards to the final result on social media, calling himself a “king.”
This assertion is the most recent instance of Trump expressing his want to manipulate without any checks and balances — in addition to his disrespect for the U.S. system of federalism, which grants native governments, in some instances, the proper to enact their very own legal guidelines.
DOT Secretary Sean Duffy introduced the choice to rescind this system, justifying the transfer by claiming the program was “pushed primarily by the necessity to increase income for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) system versus the necessity to cut back congestion.”
This system had beforehand been approved in November 2024 by the Biden administration. According to MTA chair Janno Lieber, the congestion pricing program is already “extremely profitable,” and has “dramatically lowered congestion, bringing lowered visitors and quicker journey occasions, whereas rising speeds for buses and emergency automobiles.”
Lieber stated his company deliberate to file a lawsuit towards the Trump administration, arguing that the choice to rescind approval of this system was an overreach by the White Home.
Trump celebrated the motion by posting on Reality Social that his administration had someway “SAVED” New York from this system. He additionally wrote, “LONG LIVE THE KING.”
Responding to his publish, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul defended the program, noting that “transit ridership is up, drivers are having a greater expertise, and assist for this program is rising on daily basis.”
The governor additionally immediately addressed Trump’s autocratic assertion: “We’re a nation of legal guidelines, not dominated by a king,” Hochul stated.
Afterward, the official White Home Fb web page printed an AI picture of Trump carrying a crown, captioned “Lengthy Stay the King.”
Trump’s social media posts are simply the most recent instance of him asserting broader govt department powers, together with the flexibility to take any motion he desires whereas in workplace with little to no penalties — an assertion the conservative Supreme Court docket agreed partially with in an anti-democratic ruling issued last year.
Earlier this week, for instance, Trump made a post in which he stated, “He who saves his Nation doesn’t violate any Legislation,” a quote often attributed to the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Critics decried the statement from Trump as indicative of his plans to disregard the rule of legislation sooner or later.
Authorized consultants are additionally anxious that Trump may soon openly defy rulings from federal judges he disagrees with. A number of allies of the president have advised he ought to do as a lot, together with Vice President J.D. Vance, who expressed his dubious belief earlier this month that “judges aren’t allowed to manage the chief’s authentic energy.”
Trump additionally stated in his first time period in workplace that Article II of the U.S. Structure, which offers with the presidency itself, enabled him to claim virtually king-like powers whereas in workplace.
“I’ve an Article II, the place I’ve to the proper to do no matter I need as president,” Trump said, a press release that authorized consultants have denounced as each false and alarming.
Observers objected to Trump’s most up-to-date social media publish.
“I simply need any Republican to think about, only for a second, if Obama or Biden had tweeted out ‘Lengthy reside the King!’ about ANYTHING,” said Ben Amey, a former New York State-based journalist. “Proper-wing information would have been apocalyptic.”
“Does this formally make him a *royal* ache within the ass?” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) asked on X.
Referencing an apparent “quid pro quo” deal that the Trump administration has made with New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams, NY city council member Justin Brannan equally blasted Trump’s assertion.
“It doesn’t matter what corrupt deal Donald Trump made with the Mayor, he isn’t king. Solely fools concede to false energy,” Brannan wrote on X. “It’s an phantasm.”
Importantly, the U.S. Structure forbids any particular person in the USA from turning into a monarch.
“No Title of The Aristocracy shall be granted by the USA,” the document states.
We’re resisting Trump’s authoritarian stress.
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