'In black and white': CNN host delivers basic civics lesson to prove Trump act ignores law
CNN anchor Manu Raju broke out the U.S. Constitution while hosting Inside Politics on Monday morning to slam President Donald Trump’s acceptance of a $400 million plane from Qatar.
“We've heard a lot about the emoluments clause back in the first Trump term. But just to remind viewers about what that is, it's Article One, section nine, clause eight of the Constitution,” Raju said.
“‘If you're reading at home, it says no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent of the congress, accept of any present, emolument, office or title of any kind, whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.’ And of course, this is a gift from the head of the state [from Qatar].”
Raju then turned to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Washington Bureau Chief, Tia Mitchel, who said, “Yeah, you know, that's the constitution there. That's what a lot of Republicans say they want to stick strictly to. And it seems to say right there, and quite frankly, black and white, that this gift is not legal."
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She added, "I think also, we need to note, again, transferring it to the presidential library is, in theory, to allow President Trump to continue using what is supposed to be a gift to the U.S. government after he is no longer president. Most presidential libraries take the gifts, but either put them on display, put them in archives for research, and things like that.”
Many on the left and right of politics are hitting back at the president for his acceptance of the plane.
Earlier in the morning, Trump defended his acceptance of the plane, comparing it to a gold analogy.
“You know, there was an old golfer named Sam Snead. Did you ever hear of him? He won 82 tournaments, he was a great golfer,” Trump said.
“He had a motto, ‘When they give you a putt, you say thank you very much. You pick it up and walk to the next hole.’ A lot of people are stupid. They say no, no, I insist on putting it. Then they put it, they miss it.”
Watch the video below or at this link.
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