If you needed any more proof that President Trump can’t tolerate a personal slight without getting revenge, this story should do the trick: Just a few days after John McCain made it clear he doesn’t want the president attending his funeral, Donald Trump has signed an executive order stating that he is allowed to get inside John McCain’s coffin with him.
Wow, this is an unconscionable abuse of power by the president.
The order, which the president signed this morning, supersedes McCain’s request that Trump not attend his funeral by granting Trump the power to enter John McCain’s casket with him at any time and for any reason whatsoever, including in the middle of the ailing senator’s funeral. Going way beyond the powers granted to him in the Constitution, the order also specifically grants Trump the ability to get inside the senator’s coffin and lie down while the pallbearers carry it to the gravesite, and to delay the senator’s burial until he is done sitting inside the coffin with him.
The disturbing order goes on to detail how Trump’s power continues even after McCain’s burial:
If at any point Donald Trump decides to unearth Mr. John McCain’s casket to get inside and take a nap, this executive order overrides any and all existing property and burial rights. It will also be up to Donald Trump’s discretion whether or not John McCain’s body remains inside his coffin should Donald Trump decide to unearth it and climb inside for a picnic or any other personal use.
Absolutely horrifying. It’s not hard to see how Trump could even use this executive order as grounds to have McCain’s coffin delivered to the White House so he can sit in it at a future state dinner or press conference.
Simply put, that Trump has unilaterally given himself the power to get inside John McCain’s coffin sets a dangerous precedent. Mr. Trump, if you really want to get inside John McCain’s coffin whenever you want, you need to get Congressional approval, because THAT is how democracy works. End of story.
