In a move that could only surprise those unfamiliar with his unbroken streak of legal blunders, Donald Trump has issued yet another executive order—this time attempting to seize control of elections. You know, the thing the Constitution explicitly says is up to the states? Yeah, that.
Trump, ever the scholar of law (or at least of Fox News legal punditry), has decreed that states must require proof of citizenship for voter registration and that all ballots must be received by Election Day. It’s a bold strategy—if the goal is to rack up another record-breaking string of courtroom defeats. Because, in case no one in his inner circle bothered to Google it, the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 4) puts states in charge of election rules. Congress, not the president, has the authority to “make or alter” those rules. The executive branch? Nowhere in the equation.
Of course, this minor inconvenience—the actual text of the Constitution—has never deterred Trump before. Why start now? His entire approach to governance has been to scribble whatever grievance-fueled decree his staff can cobble together and then watch it get laughed out of court. And this latest attempt at election manipulation is no different.
It’s almost touching, really, how Trump and his legal brain trust (if you can call it that) keep trying to make “presidential overreach” happen. From declaring himself immune to prosecution to pretending an executive order can override state election laws, the man is nothing if not committed to the art of constitutional fantasy. One almost expects his next move to be an executive order declaring himself King of America.
Naturally, this latest foray into legal absurdity has already drawn sharp criticism from actual experts (i.e., people who read books). Constitutional scholars, civil rights groups, and even a few Republicans with functioning brain cells have pointed out that Trump’s decree is a legal non-starter. The lawsuits challenging it are practically writing themselves.
So, what’s the real goal here? Surely even Trump knows this won’t hold up in court. But, as always, this is less about governing and more about the performance of grievance politics. He and his followers thrive on the narrative that elections are “rigged” against them (by voters, apparently), and this order is just another way to stoke that delusion. When the courts inevitably strike it down, he’ll screech about “activist judges” and “deep state corruption,” and the cycle will repeat.
At the end of the day, this executive order won’t change how elections are run. But it does confirm, once again, that Trump and his band of constitutional illiterates have absolutely no idea how government works. And for that, at least, we can be grateful.
