Amid voices calling for Trump not to desecrate the D-Day commemoration on Thursday in Normandy, France, the occupant of the Oval Office trudged ahead, at the same time tweeting at his Democratic opponents and others who challenge his authority, including a few Republicans.
In preparation for the June 6 ceremony, Trump responded to questions about his own avoidance of military service during the Vietnam War era. “Well, I was never a fan of that war I’ll be honest with you,” he told the press. “I thought it was a terrible war, I thought it was very far away.” He received a draft deferment due to bone spurs in his foot.
When he returns from abroad, he may encounter a few spurs in his political saddle, several of them placed there by his fellow Republicans who continue to be outraged and opposed to his planned tariffs on Mexico to curb the flow of immigrants crossing the borders.
Trump, dubbed the “sheriff of tariffs,” promised the tariffs would go into effect next week and warned Republicans not to intervene.
“I don’t think they will do that—if they do it’s foolish,” he said during a press conference in London.
Meanwhile, on Monday, June 3, a Trump-appointed judge rejected an attempt by Democrats to bar Trump from spending $6.1 billion in unappropriated funds to build a border wall. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden, in a 24-page opinion, ruled that the court lacked authority to resolve a funding dispute between the executive and legislative branches of the government.
“While the Constitution bestows upon members of the House many powers, it does not grant them standing to hale the executive branch into court claiming a dilution of Congress’s legislative authority,” the judge wrote. This is a temporary victory for Trump.
Back in February, Trump declared a national emergency in a gambit to secure the funds to build the wall after Congress rejected a similar request. The current lawsuit is one of several to block Trump from getting the funds.
“Congress has several political arrows in its quiver to counter perceived threats to its sphere of power,” McFadden wrote. “These tools show that this lawsuit is not a last resort for the House.”