Trump Uncertain If He Supports Due Process

President Donald Trump expressed uncertainty about his duty to uphold due process rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, saying in a new interview that he does not know whether both U.S. citizens and noncitizens deserve that protection.

The Fifth Amendment provides “due process of law,” meaning individuals have certain legal rights when prosecuted for crimes. I Photo: Daniel Torok, The White House Flickr

He also said he does not believe military force would be necessary to make Canada the “51st state,” and played down the possibility of seeking a third term in office, Aamer Madhani reported the story for the Associated Press (AP).

The wide-ranging and at times combative interview aired on NBC’s Meet the Press as the Republican president’s second term passed the 100-day mark, amid growing public skepticism.

A recent poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows his agenda is facing sharper resistance.

Critics say Trump is undermining due process in the U.S., citing the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who was living in Maryland when he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and imprisoned without communication.

Trump claims Abrego Garcia is part of a violent transnational gang, though there is little evidence to support that. In fact, he fled to the U.S. because the gang had threatened his life.

The Supreme Court has ordered the administration to return him to the U.S.

When asked whether due process, as outlined in the Fifth Amendment, applies to both citizens and noncitizens, Trump was noncommittal. “I don’t know. I’m not—I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know,” he said.

The Fifth Amendment provides “due process of law,” meaning individuals have certain legal rights when prosecuted for crimes. Additionally, the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law to all persons within a state’s jurisdiction.