The City College of New York

Denny Gabriel

Ms.Polen

Politics- Tuesday/Friday

11 March 2019
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Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States; notably one of the most controversial

presidents of the 21st century. His political contributions are often overlooked because of the

frequent drama the media covers around him. The legislative branch is thought to be one of the

most controversial parts constitution. The president role gives an individual a tremendous

amount of power over decisions and legislation of the United States. The individual is able to

practice and execute political ideals(under constitutional law, of course). One of Donald Trump’s

most popular ideals is that he wants to make America a safer place. He has made a consecutive

effort to obtain funds to build a wall around the Mexican border; whom he declared a National

Emergency to secure part of the funds. He assures this will decrease crimes, drug trafficking and

terrorism in the United States. Also, he has made distinct diplomatic actions compared to other

presidents in order to reinforce relationships with other countries. He met with the president of

North Korea at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam. All though many might not agree with

these political policies Donald Trump is pursuing, it is all questioned under the power of the

constitution.

Border security has been a long remark Donald Trump has used during his campaigns

and time in office. His desire to build a wall around the Mexican border as ticked off many

politicians alike. He claims the wall will significantly decrease drug trafficking however studies

claim this is not the case. The proposal for this wall around the Mexican border will cost billions

of dollars. Trump originally stated that Mexico will pay for the wall; however, that proved to not

the case rather quickly. Donald Trump declared a National Emergency on February 15, 2019.

The national emergency allows him to secure the funds to build the wall around the Mexican

border. Many people in congress were infuriated by this act. Despite given the authority to do
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this by the “Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 201

and 301 of the National Emergencies Act”(National Security & Defense). The president is

allowed to monitor and control federal funding. Many people in congress have expressed their

frustrations about this online. “It would be a gross abuse of power — and likely illegal — for

President Trump to go around Congress to fund his wall. Inventing an unnecessary national

emergency would be a power grab that would likely be blocked by the courts,"”(Wong) said

Senator Chris Van Hollen on twitter. Declaring a national emergency seems like a mystery; The

National Emergency Act has allowed the “president to pronounce a national emergency when he

considers it appropriate. The act offers no specific definition of “emergency” and allows a

president to declare one entirely at his or her discretion.”(Deanna Paul and Colby Itkowitz). For

this reason many think Donald Trump is abusing his powers.

Donald Trump has also be involved with North Korea. Him and the president of North

Korea, Kim Jong-un, met earlier this year in Vietnam. This shows Trump exercising his powers

to deal with foreign affairs as the Constitution gives him. Trump has made progress with foreign

relations compared to our last presidents. Since the Obama administration, we have been on a

rocky path with North Korea and other countries. Donald Trump is making his efforts to pursue

and come into an agreement with these countries. Trump was headed to met Kim Jong-Un “but

there was no immediate indication of what sort of agreement would be signed”. Under the Treaty

Clause(Article 2,Section 2, Clause 2) in the Constitution, it gives the president the power to

propose and chiefly negotiate agreements between United States and other countries. This is not

the first time Donald Trump meet with Kim Jong-un last year in hopes of reaching an agreement.

Despite promising their relationship was great and that they were gonna succeed; the agreement
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didn’t succeed. And yet again, Donald Trump was no able to reach an agreement with the North

Korean leader. “While Trump is pushing for a detailed North Korean plan for denuclearization,

Kim wants the U.S. to first end economic sanctions against his impoverished country. Trump has

previously said he would not ease sanctions without concrete action from Kim”(Collins). Donald

Trump is in a awkward position with North Korea right now, claiming they are in good standing

but the progress so far since the last meeting has not shown.

Donald Trump has also been focused on the armed forces lately. “Trump signed an

executive order March 5 aiming to stem the number of suicides among veterans by creating a

high-level task force to develop research strategies and plans to tackle the problem and provide

grants for communities to help former troops who are struggling”(“Trump Signs”). This

executive order received a lot of love from the public as our veterans are very important to the

United States. The United States has been continuously making efforts to provide as much

benefits for veterans as early as when the GI bill was signed. This executive order aims to

decrease the suicides among veterans and provide a series of programs for their mental health.

These executive orders power is given to United States presidents in the Constitution,

specifically: Article II, Section 1, Clause 1.

These are 3 actions Trump has taken since the start of 2019. Whether people agree or

disagree with his course of action, is very important to acknowledge that the Constitution gives

him these powers. Despite the controversies of his abuse of power with the National Emergency

Declaration, the constitution is not perfect therefore interpretation will vary. These

interpretations are also acknowledge under law to make sure everything is fair; therefore the

actions should be deem constitutional so far.

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Work Cited

Collins, Michael and David Jackson. “Everything you should know about the Trump-Kim

summit in Vietnam” USA Today, 26 Feb. 2019,

www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/26/trump-kim-summit-everything-you-s

hould-know-vietnam/2920422002/

National Security & Defense. “Presidential Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency

Concerning the Southern Border of the United States.” ​White House,​ 15 Feb. 2019,

www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-proclamation-declaring-national-e

mergency-concerning-southern-border-united-states/

Paul, Deanna and Colby Itkowitz. “What exactly is a national emergency? Here’s what that

means and what happens next.” ​The Washington Post,​ 15 Feb. 2019,

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/15/what-exactly-is-national-emergency-heres

-what-that-means-what-happens-next/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.97585edc960c

“Trump Signs Executive Order Creating Task Force to Stop Vet Suicide.” ​Military.com​, 11 Mar.

2019,

www.military.com/military-report/trump-signs-executive-order-creating-task-force-stop-

vet-suicide.html

Wong, Alex. “'Dangerous.' 'Abuse.' 'Lawless': Bipartisan attack on Trump national emergency

declaration.” ​NBC News​, 14 Feb. 2019,

www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/dangerous-abuse-lawless-bipartisan-attack-trump-n

ational-emergency-declaration-n971826