Trump’s Social Media Post, Invoking Napoleon, Claims He Is Above the Law “`
A weekend tweet by Donald Trump sparked widespread condemnation.
While not unprecedented, critics contend that the President’s recent post is not merely controversial but displays dictatorial tendencies.
“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform and also on Elon Musk’s X platform (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. The White House account on X reposted the message alongside Trump’s official presidential photograph.
This phrase is often linked to Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor known for authoritarian rule—a figure Trump has favorably compared himself to.
Trump’s latest Napoleonic statement has angered Democrats and liberal commentators. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) responded to Trump on X: “Spoken like a true dictator.” Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times called it “the single most un-american and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an american president” on Bluesky.
Some anti-Trump conservatives also expressed concern. Anthony Scaramucci, a former White House communications director and now critic, condemned Trump’s statement, adding: “Wants to be a dictator. If you don’t see it it means you don’t want to.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared to indirectly criticize Trump’s post by sharing an essay he wrote in 2010, titled “The Constitution and the Presidency,” which stated: “A president who slights the Constitution is like a rider who hates his horse: he will be thrown, and the nation along with him. The president solemnly swears to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. He does not solemnly swear to ignore, overlook, supplement, or reinterpret it.”
Dan McLaughlin, a senior writer at the National Review who has written about supporting Pence for the 2024 election, commented on Trump’s statement: “This is some un-American monarchical nonsense. The president is above *some* laws, because there are things legally only he may do. But his entire office remains a creature of law.”
Bill Kristol, a former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle and prominent Trump critic, remarked on Bluesky, “We’re getting into real Führerprinzip territory here”—referencing the Nazi Germany principle that Hitler’s word was law.
Billy Binion, a reporter for the libertarian magazine Reason, tweeted: “I know many conservatives still care about the Constitution. But it is genuinely depressing that the leader of the Republican Party is someone who is openly OK with violating the rule of law as long as it serves his political ends. That’s…bad. I miss real conservatism.”
Former RNC Chair Reince Priebus, Trump’s first chief of staff, dismissed criticism of Trump’s post, describing it as trolling and “catnip for the media.”
“It’s entertainment for Trump. It’s a distraction,” Priebus said on ABC News’ This Week. “This is what the President does.”
However, some of Trump’s supporters welcomed the Napoleonic declaration. “Thank you, President Trump. We love you,” controversial right-wing activist wrote to Trump’s post on X.
Musk, who owns X, reposted Trump’s message on X, adding U.S. flag emojis.
And right-wing commentator also supported Trump’s message, adding “America will be saved” and “What must be done will be done.”
This isn’t the first time Trump or his allies have suggested that the rule of law shouldn’t impede his agenda. As the Trump Administration faces multiple legal challenges, Vice President J.D. Vance stated on Feb. 9 that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt previously accused the media of “fearmongering” about a “constitutional crisis,” saying during a Feb. 12 news briefing: “The real constitutional crisis is taking place within our judicial branch, where district court judges in liberal districts across the country are abusing their power to unilaterally block President Trump’s basic executive authority.”
The Constitution, however, established three separate branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) as a system of checks and balances—with the courts empowered to rule on the constitutionality of laws and presidential actions.
Regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity last year, it stated that Presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within their “constitutional authority” and presumptive immunity for other official acts, but that: “The President enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law.”