--- title: Napoleonic Post Stirs Debate About Presidential Powers description: Trump suggested he’s above the law as his administration challenges the courts’ authority to rein in his rule. canonical: https://time.com/7226686/trump-napoleon-post-saves-country-violate-law-reactions-constitutional-crisis/ author: Chad de Guzman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-02-17T07:30:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-01-19T19:21:03.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Napoleonic Post Stirs Debate About Presidential Powers og:description: Trump suggested he’s above the law as his administration challenges the courts’ authority to rein in his rule. og:url: https://time.com/7226686/trump-napoleon-post-saves-country-violate-law-reactions-constitutional-crisis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc627185924d9aa9e/6998b866a97fc00980a72bcf/donald-trump_33a2bd.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Donald Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Napoleonic Post Stirs Debate About Presidential Powers twitter:description: Trump suggested he’s above the law as his administration challenges the courts’ authority to rein in his rule. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc627185924d9aa9e/6998b866a97fc00980a72bcf/donald-trump_33a2bd.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Suggests He’s Above the Law in Social Media Post Invoking Napoleon > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Chad de Guzman](https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Reporter Updated: Jan 19, 2026 7:21 PM UTCPublished: Feb 17, 2025 7:30 AM UTC  President Donald Trump at the Palm Beach International Airport in Florida on Feb. 16, 2025. President Donald Trump at the Palm Beach International Airport in Florida on Feb. 16, 2025.Roberto Schmidt—AFP/Getty Images  by [Chad de Guzman](https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Reporter Updated: Jan 19, 2026 7:21 PM UTCPublished: Feb 17, 2025 7:30 AM UTC Donald Trump set off a firestorm of criticism over the weekend with a tweet. It might seem like nothing new, but critics say the President’s recent post is more than [offensive](https://time.com/7225608/white-house-valentines-day-social-media-post-illegal-immigration-backlash/)—they say it’s dictatorial. “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” Trump [posted](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114009179225169296) on his social media site Truth Social [as well as on](https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1890831570535055759) Elon Musk’s X platform (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. The White House account on X [also shared](https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/1890907530232033774) the message alongside Trump’s official presidential photograph. A version of the phrase is often attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, the French general who crowned himself emperor in 1804 and was known for his authoritarian rule—and whom Trump has [quoted](https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/296736881100611584) [before](https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/349980152236752896). The quotation was also [posted last year](https://x.com/nayibbukele/status/1749957693966586207) by El Salvador’s populist authoritarian President [Nayib Bukele](https://time.com/7015598/nayib-bukeles-iron-fist-el-salvador/), whom Trump and Musk have expressed admiration for. Trump’s latest Napoleonic invocation has rankled Democrats and liberal commentators. Sen. Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) [responded](https://x.com/SenAdamSchiff/status/1890877518179094899) to Trump on X: “Spoken like a true dictator.” _New York Times_ columnist Jamelle Bouie [described](https://bsky.app/profile/jamellebouie.net/post/3liaehy3rq22n) it as “the single most un-american and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an american president” on social media platform Bluesky. Some anti-Trump conservatives have also voiced their unease. Anthony Scaramucci, who briefly served as White House communications director during Trump’s first term before becoming a vocal intraparty critic, [reposted](https://x.com/Scaramucci/status/1890837313959166173) Trump’s statement, adding: “Wants to be a dictator. If you don’t see it it means you don’t want to.” Former Vice President Mike Pence appeared to implicitly rebuke Trump’s post by [resharing](https://x.com/Mike%5FPence/status/1890887398461948057) an essay he’d written in 2010, titled “[The Presidency and the Constitution](https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/the-presidency-and-the-constitution/),” in which he wrote: “A president who slights the Constitution is like a rider who hates his horse: he will be thrown, and the nation along with him. The president solemnly swears to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. He does not solemnly swear to ignore, overlook, supplement, or reinterpret it.” Dan McLaughlin, a senior writer at the _National Review_ who [wrote in November](https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/11/making-a-morally-intolerable-choice/) about writing in Pence for the 2024 election, [posted on X](https://x.com/baseballcrank/status/1890837227338416602) about Trump’s declaration: “This is some un-American monarchical nonsense. The president is above \*some\* laws, because there are things legally only he may do. But his entire office remains a creature of law.” Bill Kristol, former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle and a prominent Trump critic, [posted](https://bsky.app/profile/billkristolbulwark.bsky.social/post/3liagofzpys2z) on Bluesky, “We’re getting into real Führerprinzip territory here”—referencing the Nazi Germany principle that Führer Adolf Hitler’s word was above the law. Billy Binion, a reporter for libertarian magazine _Reason,_ [posted](https://x.com/billybinion/status/1890846340340400465) on X: “I know many conservatives still care about the Constitution. But it is genuinely depressing that the leader of the Republican Party is someone who is openly OK with violating the rule of law as long as it serves his political ends. That’s…bad. I miss real conservatism.” Former RNC Chair Reince Priebus, Trump’s first chief of staff during his first term, dismissed the criticisms of Trump’s post, excusing the provocative statement as mere trolling and “catnip for the media.” “It’s entertainment for Trump. It’s a distraction,” Priebus [said](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-post-critics-declaring-law/story?id=118880089) on ABC News’ _This Week_ on Sunday. “This is what the President does.” Some of Trump’s supporters, however, have welcomed the Napoleonic declaration. “Thank you, President Trump. We love you,” controversial right-wing activist [Laura Loomer](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly8y27dwgpo) [responded](https://x.com/LauraLoomer/status/1890832348637249997) to Trump’s post on X. Musk, who [heads the Department of Government Efficiency](https://time.com/7213409/elon-musk-us-government-trump/), [reposted](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1890842231180816419) Trump’s message on X, appending [14](https://www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/14) U.S. flag emojis. And right-wing commentator [Jack Posobiec](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/02/13/pete-hegseth-jack-posobiec/) also [shared](https://x.com/JackPosobiec/status/1890835720916328875) Trump’s message, adding “America will be saved” and “What must be done will be done.” **Read More:** [_Donald Trump Keeps Teasing a Third Term. Here’s What to Know_](https://time.com/7222820/trump-third-term-president-explainer-pathways-constitution-courts-legal-experts/) It’s not the first time Trump or his allies have suggested that the rule of law should not get in the way of his agenda. As the Trump Administration already faces [dozens of lawsuits](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/us/trump-administration-lawsuits.html), Vice President J.D. Vance [posted on X](https://x.com/JDVance/status/1888607143030391287) on Feb. 9 that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.” And Musk has [called for](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1889543691947352577) the impeachment of judges “who are undermining the will of the people.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also previously accused the media of “fearmongering” about a “constitutional crisis,” [saying](https://apnews.com/article/trump-judges-rulings-constitutional-crisis-presidential-power-a9c593cf3f9faec23a03f4a5123fefdb) during a news briefing on Feb. 12: “The real constitutional crisis is taking place within our judicial branch, where district court judges in liberal districts across the country are abusing their power to unilaterally block President Trump’s basic executive authority.” The Constitution, however, established the three separate branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) specifically to act as a system of [checks and balances](https://www.usa.gov/branches-of-government)—with the courts, in particular, empowered to rule on the constitutionality of laws and presidential actions. On Tuesday, Feb. 18, Musk [posted](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1891772585379037542) “True” in response to El Salvador’s Bukele asserting—in reference to the dismissal of judges opposed to his administration in 2021, which critics called a “coup” at the time—“‘Checks and balances’ don’t truly exist unless the judicial branch can also be checked and balanced.” As for the Supreme Court’s [ruling](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939%5Fe2pg.pdf) on presidential immunity last year, it stipulated that Presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken within their “constitutional authority” and presumptive immunity for other official acts, but that: “The President enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law.” _—_[_Miranda Jeyaretnam_](https://time.com/author/miranda-jeyaretnam/) _contributed reporting._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7226686/trump-napoleon-post-saves-country-violate-law-reactions-constitutional-crisis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7226686/trump-napoleon-post-saves-country-violate-law-reactions-constitutional-crisis/"},"headline":"President Trump Suggests He’s Above the Law in Social Media Post Invoking Napoleon","datePublished":"2025-02-17T07:30:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-01-19T19:21:03.000Z","description":"Trump suggested he’s above the law as his administration challenges the courts’ authority to rein in his rule.","url":"https://time.com/7226686/trump-napoleon-post-saves-country-violate-law-reactions-constitutional-crisis/","keywords":["Donald Trump","overnight","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc627185924d9aa9e/6998b866a97fc00980a72bcf/donald-trump_33a2bd.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chad de Guzman","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc627185924d9aa9e/6998b866a97fc00980a72bcf/donald-trump_33a2bd.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Donald Trump","caption":"U.S. President Donald Trump at the Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla. on Feb. 16, 2025.","creditText":"Roberto Schmidt—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7226686/trump-napoleon-post-saves-country-violate-law-reactions-constitutional-crisis/","name":"President Trump Suggests He’s Above the Law in Social Media Post Invoking Napoleon"}}]}] ```