Donald Trump appeared to channel Napoleon Bonaparte—via actor Rod Steiger—after facing a legal firestorm over his aggressive executive actions.
On Saturday, the former president took to Truth Social and X with a cryptic message:
“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”
White House Doubles Down on Sweeping Presidential Power
The official White House X account echoed Trump’s statement, reinforcing what many see as his administration’s belief that the president is above the law. The message followed a series of court rulings blocking Trump’s attempts to slash federal funding, fire aid workers, and unilaterally reinterpret the 14th Amendment.
The quote, often attributed to Napoleon, actually appears in the 1970 film Waterloo, where Steiger’s Napoleon declares:
“I found it in the gutter, and I picked it up with my sword, and it was the people … who put it on my head. He who saves a nation violates no law.”
Trump’s Legal Battles Mount as Musk Joins the Fight
Within just weeks of taking office, Trump and his allies have pushed a radical view of presidential power, claiming he is immune from judicial oversight. This theory has faced swift backlash, as courts across the country issue restraining orders against his administration’s policies.
Elon Musk, now deeply embedded in Trump’s White House, has launched his own attacks on the judiciary. He and other officials have labeled judges who rule against them as “corrupt” and “evil,” even threatening to remove them from the bench.
Scholars Warn of Looming Constitutional Crisis
Legal experts are raising alarms over Trump’s increasingly authoritarian rhetoric, particularly in light of a controversial Supreme Court ruling that granted presidents immunity from prosecution for official acts. The New York Times’ Jamelle Bouie called Trump’s latest statement “the single most un-American and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an American president.”
Conservative Trump critic Bill Kristol went even further, likening Trump’s stance to Führerprinzip, the Nazi-era principle that placed a leader’s word above all.
White House Blames Courts, Not Trump
Despite growing concerns, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed warnings of a constitutional crisis. Instead, she accused liberal judges of “abusing their power” and claimed that court orders against the administration “have no basis in the law.”
“We will comply with these orders, but it is also the administration’s position that we will ultimately be vindicated,” she said.
With Musk continuing his crusade against the judiciary and Trump invoking the language of emperors, the battle over executive power is far from over.
