John Yoo

 

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Donald Trump campaigned like a populist in 2016. After his surprise election victory, every liberal- leaning American - not to mention quite a few moderate conservatives - were fearful his brash style would make him a threat to the rule of law and the Constitution of our nation. John Yoo is one of the finest constitutional scholars in America, and served as the Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel during the George W. Bush presidency. He too was concerned that the critics might be right about Trump and Constitutional law. After extensive research into the decisions of the president, Yoo dispels these fears and astutely shows that Trump might actually be a great defender of the Constitution in his new book, DEFENDER IN CHIEF: Donald Trump's Battles for Presidential Power (All Points Books, on sale July 28, 2020, $29.99).

Controversial or not, Trump's actions show that he is more in line with the thinking of the Founding Fathers than many of our previous presidents. Yoo argues that Trump has stood his ground in defense of the Constitution on three major fronts: first, in standing up to Robert Mueller's Special Counsel investigation as well as the impeachment efforts against him, the president propped up the office's authority to govern the executive branch and to make sure the law of the land was faithfully executed; second, in relation to foreign affairs and war, Trump shielded the executive branch so as to maintain its advantages of unity, speed and decision making, thus protecting our national security and pursuing our interests abroad; and, third, his nominations to the Supreme Court have clarified original understanding on questions ranging from governmental power to individual liberties.