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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSomeone took issue with my argument that the donald took the oath of office and
that action covered his lying, i.e. he is lying under oath.
Here is part of an article about just that:
https://www.lawfareblog.com/bullshit-and-oath-office-lol-nothing-matters-presidency
Notably, the Oath Clause and Take Care Clause are unique among Article II requirements in being fundamentally incompatible by their nature with bullshit. A bullshitter is perfectly capable of serving as Commander in Chief of the armed forces, of making treaties, of receiving foreign representatives, and so on and so forth. He may perform all of these duties poorly, but he is theoretically capable of carrying them out. The requirements of the Oath Clause and the Take Care Clause, on the other hand, are fundamentally irreconcilable with the character type and the behavior. The bullshitter either stops being a bullshitter or he cannot honor these clauses.
To be clear, this is not a legal argument. I am not saying that a President Trump should not be allowed to take the oath of office because of what I see as his characterological inability to honor it; thats what elections are for. But I am saying that there exists a foundational incompatibility between our President-elect and the duties of the office that he will soon hold and that we should thus expect serial questions to arise about whether he has, in fact, honored his oath and obeyed the Take Care Clause. And when those issues arise, we should understand from whence they spring. As citizens of a country that purports to live under the rule of law, we have a duty to insist that words have meaningeven when the President swears an oath he doesnt even understand.
area51
(11,868 posts)the bible didn't burst into flames when he touched it.
Ms. Toad
(33,915 posts)and then you lie.
An oath is just a promise to do something. Not all oaths are promises not to lie
Specifically, Trump's oath had nothing to do with telling the truth:
So lying is not a violation of the oath he took.
(And nothing in the article suggests it is.)