In my view, United States President Donald Trump hit a new low a few days ago when he called for the execution of six Democratic members of Congress because they took part in a video directed at America\u2019s military, urging them not to obey illegal orders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Certainly, the video was unusual, but we live in unusual times. The video was not a seditious act. United States law requires service members to refuse unlawful commands, and the U.S. Constitution is the source of that legal structure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald Trump, however, described the video as \u201cseditious behavior from Traitors,\u201d called for them to be locked up, and implied that they should face execution. Some folks will applaud that, but we all need to think about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a man holding one of the highest political offices in the entire world, calling for the death of six elected members of Congress, all veterans of the armed forces, including former astronaut Mark Kelly. One can whitewash it if it makes them feel better and they can say that was just Trump\u2019s style and he really didn\u2019t mean it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fact remains, however, that it came out of the mouth of the President of the United States and that, also in fact, means a great deal. There are plenty of nuts out there who will take the President at his word. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark Kelly, an American hero and now a United States Senator responded to Donald Trump\u2019s threats saying, \u201cI never expected after serving 25 years in the Navy, flying combat missions over Iraq and Kuwait, flying the space shuttle, that now I\u2019ve got to worry about my personal safety and that of my wife, Gabby Giffords who was already nearly assassinated because of something the President said.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Trump has demonstrated pretty effectively that the rule of law means very little to him, unless of course, he can use it to destroy his perceived enemies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In relation to military matters, the President has authorized attacks on Venezuelan ships in international waters believed to be carrying drugs to the United States. He is now threatening to actually attack Venezuela. There is no evidence that due process has been followed, and these attacks amount to an act of war on another country, which requires the approval of Congress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The legality of deploying United States troops on U.S. soil for domestic law enforcement is also questionable and currently before the courts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The problem that not only the United States faces, but also many other parts of the world, especially Canada, is that Donald Trump believes in his heart he can do whatever he wants and that court orders and any other opposition to what he wants to do are simply minor inconveniences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is why the constitutional requirements of Congress to provide oversight of the Executive Branch of government are so important. It is sad indeed when the majority of these members sit on their duffs because either they are too frightened or too amply rewarded to curb the excessive use of power exercised by Donald Trump. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald Trump\u2019s call for the execution of sitting members of Congress, on top of his penchant for revenge politics, actively using his position in an attempt to put his perceived enemies in jail, are by themselves, enough to recognize that he defies democracy and leans toward despotic leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To top that off, another bombshell came this past week when the president presented a proposal to Ukraine to end the war against Russia. It came with an ultimatum from Trump that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy must accept the proposal by this coming Thursday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The so-called peace settlement, supposedly drafted by the United States, could well have been produced in Moscow. It heavily favours Russia, ceding a large portion of Ukrainian land to them and imposing serious restrictions on what is left of Ukraine related to their security and ultimately their sovereignty. It completely ignores the fact that Russia started this war, was the aggressor and defied international law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, after paying lip service to Ukraine, why has Trump turned the tables on them so dramatically? There are two reasons, I believe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
No matter what comes out of his mouth from time to time, Donald Trump will eventually do what Russia tells him to. Whether the relationship is formal or informal, in my view, you can count on it. As well, the way Donald Trump thinks, if Russia is allowed to invade and occupy part of a neighboring country, that leaves a precedent and a door open that he himself may someday want to go through. Canadians should be very concerned about that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is also interesting to note that a couple of cracks appeared in the MAGA organization last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald Trump effectively booted Marjorie Taylor-Greene out of the MAGA movement by withdrawing his endorsement of her and threatening a primary challenge before the next House election in November. Greene then one-upped him by announcing she would resign from Congress in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an instant, Marjorie Taylor-Green went from hero to zero among the MAGA crowd, where she was known as a ferocious pit bull not only for Donald Trump but also for their movement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It will be interesting to see where this goes. From Trump\u2019s perspective, because Taylor-Greene became outspoken about areas where she disagreed with him, it may be that he believes he is sending a message to every Republican in Congress, that this is what happens when you oppose him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, while I doubt that Marjorie Greene-Taylor has had an epiphany, it will be interesting to see what she will do next. Will she run for president in 2028? Will she take on Trump and the MAGA machine? One thing I am pretty certain of: she won\u2019t be sitting at home working on a ball of wool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And finally, the week ended with an extraordinary meeting in the Oval Office between President Trump and the far-left socialist and Israel opponent, the Mayor-elect of New York City, Zohran Mamdani. What was expected to be fireworks turned out to be a lovefest. I wonder how that went over with the MAGA folks?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bottom line here is that it is almost impossible to guess what Donald Trump will do next. One minute he loves you, the next minute you could be the scum of the earth. He is unreliable and unpredictable. He will say one thing and do another. He appears to believe that loyalty to him is more important than loyalty to the Constitution. He kowtows to dictatorial regimes like Russia and China. He thrives on revenge politics and cares little about the safety of the people he publicly attacks. He is a bully who loves to threaten, and Canada is one of his targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the person whom, for their own reasons, Americans have elected as their president. I respect that, but I can\u2019t help wondering when they will say, ‘Enough is enough.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps the mid-term elections, less than a year from now, will give us a hint about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hugh Mackenzie<\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\nDon\u2019t miss out on Doppler!<\/h5>\n