Opinion - What is Trump even doing any more? - The Hill
One of the most frustrating things about the Trump administration is that it offers too much nuttiness to process. Not long ago, the discovery that the president doesn’t know what the Declaration of Independence is would have consumed the country for months. Today, it barely registers because the Trump White House pumps out similar stories two or three times a week.
When you compare such stories to the trade war with China or President Trump’s claim that he doesn’t know whether he’s required to uphold the Constitution, it’s tempting to view Trump’s recent brainstorms on movie tariffs and reopening Alcatraz as mere distractions. That would be a mistake. They are evidence of something much darker than Steve Bannon’s call to “flood the zone with s—.”
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How do we know this? Because it is such a terrible idea. Alcatraz was closed down in 1963 because it was too expensive to run and too expensive to renovate. Currently, it’s a museum run by the National Park Service. Nor can it be “substantially enlarged” because Alcatraz Island is only 22 acres. If you want a new prison for the worst of the worst, Alcatraz would be the last place you would choose.
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Apart from all the practical issues, any plan to impose a tax on foreign films is almost certainly an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. If it isn’t constitutional to impose a 2 percent tax on newspapers, it’s hard to see how it could be constitutional to impose a 100 percent tax on movies. This goes double, since Trump’s “order” makes it clear he is imposing this tariff, in part, as a content-based restriction based on the “messaging and propaganda” in foreign films.
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And there are no guardrails. Trump is surrounded by sycophants — have you seen one of his Cabinet meetings? — who care more about holding onto their jobs than they care about the country. Congressional Republicans are no better. Everyone can see that Grandpa Trump has become a menace, but no one is doing anything to limit the damage, much less to take his car keys away. Sooner, rather than later, there’s going to be a terrible accident.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/opinion-trump-even-doing-more-120000272.html
Chris Truax is an appellate attorney who served as Southern California chair for John McCain’s primary campaign in 2008.
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