Social media is rife with panicked and absurd responses to President-elect Donald J. Trump’s promise to end birthright citizenship in the United States—though none are more hilarious or disturbing than those found on the popular message board website Reddit. On Sunday, President-elect Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker that his administration will move forward with plans to end birthright citizenship, suggesting he may use an executive order to set off a court challenge to the current legal treatment of the children of illegal immigrants who are born in the United States.
Trump’s remarks during the Sunday interview kicked off a lengthy Reddit thread on the channel r/politics. The thread title reads, “Birthright citizenship is a constitutional right that Trump can’t revoke” and “If you’re born in America, you’re an American, whether the president likes it or not.” However, along with the user responses, the Reddit thread title shows a naive ignorance of what the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court case law say.
‘LAWS DON’T MATTER?’
Right off the bat, at least one Reddit user argues, “He may be constrained by the laws of physics, but the laws of this country are just words on a page if they aren’t enforced.” They continue: “You can talk about will he or won’t he, but I don’t want to hear anyone saying ‘he can’t do that’ with regards to the law or our constitution.”
The comment prompts another user—evidently not having read the relevant passages in the 14th Amendment—to respond: “For instance, that same amendment says he can’t be president after trying to overthrow our government. Well, those words don’t seem to matter, so why should any other words in the constitution matter?”
While the 14th Amendment does bar individuals who have taken up arms against the United States from holding federal office, President-elect Trump or any of his appointees or Members of Congress present on January 6, 2021, have never been convicted of insurrection, armed or otherwise. Adding to the concerns regarding the two posters’ constitutional literacy, the 14th Amendment does not explicitly state that the children of immigrants—legal or illegal—born in the United States automatically receive U.S. citizenship. […]
— Read More: thenationalpulse.com
