On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its split ruling in the jarringly ironic case, “Trump v. United States” in which the former President claimed immunity from criminal prosecution for his attempted coup on January 6, 2021, on the grounds that his actions were conducted in his capacity as president. The implications are far-reaching and they will spill over into Canada.
The ruling, when read, sounds reasonable and rational at first. It is, after all, imperative that the leader of a nation have the freedom and power to perform their duties without undue burden. All taken together, the ruling essentially exempts a sitting or former president from criminal liability for anything they did while in office that could be defined in any way as an official act. They then refer the matter back to the lower court to determine whether the indictments against him in the DC case were official acts, while depriving them of the tools to do so, neatly washing their own hands of the mess they have created. They have, in essence, made the President the infallible King.
In Westminster systems like ours in Canada, Parliamentary Privilege serves this function, shielding Members of Parliament, which the Prime Minister generally is, from a host of legal processes. In Canada, Privilege includes freedom from arrest “in civil matters”. Even under Canada’s generous system, there is no freedom from criminal liability.
It is worthwhile after contemplating all this to scroll to the end of the ruling to read Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion, where she systematically dismantles the ruling of the Court’s Conservative majority. Among other things, she points out that President Ford gave a blanket pardon to President Nixon for his involvement in all crimes surrounding Watergate, a reminder that while no other former President has been charged with a crime, it isn’t because they haven’t been committed.
President Biden, then, should be in a strong position to rip Trump apart in debate this week and in the campaign generally. But if the debate was anything to go by, Biden no longer has an especially strong idea of where he is. Jon Stewart’s typically pithy post-debate analysis lays bare the situation for our unfortunate neighbours to the south. Trump is widely said to have won the debate, while also having lied all the way through it. Being brash is far more important in debate than offering genuine vision or solutions.
What does it all mean for Canada?
As American politics takes a lot of oxygen in Canada’s political space, many Canadians see our elections and our democracy as similar to the American model, rather than the British Westminster system on which we are actually modelled. We don’t elect a President, we elect our representatives. And, unlike the United States, our Head of State and our Head of Government are not even the same person, with the duties split between the Governor General and the Prime Minister.
Framing our elections and our debates as electing all-powerful Presidents, rather than local representatives who bring with them leaders, the most-supported of which becomes Prime Minister, creates a wide open path to Americanise our elections. And our right wing is taking notes.
Trump lied throughout his presidency and throughout this debate. In spite of being convicted of, so far, 34 felonies, our American neighbours are slated to return him to office.
For Canada’s Conservative Party, the lessons are clear. Honesty and solutions matter little. Bamboozle the Canadian public and you will be on track to win. If you have no regard for the truth, and therefore lie with impunity, fact-checking comes across as opposition. Pierre Poilievre has figured this out, with fact-checkers noting nearly every word out of his mouth some days being a lie. On May 22nd alone, this group noted 114 misstatements of fact in a single question period.
If you hear that Trump or Poilievre are pathological liars, and hear corrections to everything they say, it is easy to start seeing those pointing these out as the liars and as opponents who harbour ulterior motives. It is hard to believe a reasonable person would lie 114 times within a single 45 minute question period, after all.
That Biden and Trudeau are both principled men constantly looking for opportunity to improve their countries is irrelevant; Trump and Poilievre are simply louder.
Years of defunding education and culturally celebrating stupidity have left us in a position where intelligence is derided, honesty is weakness, and democracy is headed toward the status of historical footnote. Idiocracy was not meant to be a documentary.
Taking a dishonest executive and giving them regal power is the final nail in America’s democratic coffin. The Supreme Court of the United States have set the stage to allow the final stages of Trump’s coup to play out, with Poilievre ready to play Mini-Me.
I particularly appreciated your point about the importance of choosing local representatives. Any state whose direction, behaviour, and fate can be significantly influenced, nay determined, by a single individual (whether elected or selected or crowned) - irrespective of "checks and balances" - cannot be termed a "democracy". That applies to the U.S., but also in too many respects to Canada, besides many others. We have a long way to go.
Scary times....the dumbing down of America is in full gear. The Dems think it's too late to switch horses, so it's not looking very good!