I still haven’t figured out if UK politicians know this - ThreadSky

eschatonblog.com • 16 hours ago

I still haven’t figured out if UK politicians know this

Something I hope everyone covers this tomorrow notes is that...the President has no authority whatsoever to make trade deals without congress. None. Not even the pretext of one.

Comments

regalpastry.bsky.social•15 hours ago

If there are existing trade agreements with any nations Trump is renegotiating with, wouldn't Trump be violating those trade treaties by acting without Congress ending current one and drafting new one?
Another instance of breaking the law of the land?

warrenterra.bsky.social•16 hours ago

I'm not sure it's true, in one sense: so long as he's allowed to arbitrarily declare tariff rates (I don't think he has that legal right, but no-one is stopping him, Congress just voted not to stop him) he can clearly make trade deals about his use of that arbitrary power.

But, they aren't binding.

warrenterra.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Also, his entire theory of "the deal", he authored a whole book about it, is that you should never honor a deal. You should always be stealing, any deal you've supposedly agreed on is just a new starting place for negotiations when you break it again. It's impossible to make a genuine deal with him.

eschatonblog.com•16 hours ago

he can say "we will lower your tariff rates if you promise to imprison trans people and put a Trump Hotel in Windsor Castle" and conceivably some other things within the power of the executive but nothing is at all binding as you say

telson.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Indeed. This is such a scholastic argument.
If US elites treat their own constitution as non functioning why on earth should Brits take any heed of it?

buckmeister.bsky.social•16 hours ago

I vote: no

pcrritesgood.bsky.social•10 hours ago

Well they probably know it is not actually a real deal.

kmthurman.bsky.social•15 hours ago

I mean if i am foreign reporter i have to report reality of American system: president is doing “illegal” things all the time so why would this be different?

eschatonblog.com•15 hours ago

even if we allow for illegality there are practical limits on what trump can offer, and certainly nothing binding

kmthurman.bsky.social•14 hours ago

Again, binding is a a term that i am not sure applies in the US at this moment either way.

I agree there are practical limits, but education, immigration, bribery, etc are within the current “limits” of his accepted powers

pcollirigger.bsky.social•11 hours ago

A guy holding a gun to your head is not allowed to do that. But you can empty your wallet to make him put the gun down. None of it is legal. This is the level at which Trump operates.

pcollirigger.bsky.social•11 hours ago

He has the ability to drop the tariffs that he instituted, even if that too was unlawful.

drive-in-radio.bsky.social•13 hours ago

i still haven't figured out if US politicians know they can impeach the oath-breaking lying rapist

skipwiley.bsky.social•10 hours ago

Congress has to make this known, at least maybe the minority party leader could mention it in passing. But that would require Dem leadership to do less than the bare minimum. Which appears to be too high of a bar

telson.bsky.social•16 hours ago

A constitution which no one obeys isn't one which should interest foreigners.

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