Theatre of the absurd
US President Donald Trump signed two new executive orders in yet another attempt to feed his obsession with ending birthright citizenship. This comes just five weeks after the Supreme Court, by a 6-3 vote, rejected his previous order as unconstitutional. The Chief Justice affirmed in the ruling that the 14th Amendment's protections extend to all children born on American soil. Legal scholars have further clarified that only the children of diplomats or "invading forces" are exempt under the law the former because they are born with diplomatic immunity, and the latter because they are subject to the jurisdiction of their parents' nation.
At 735 words, the 14th Amendment is also the longest amendment, and since the Constitution has no pictures or mention of the Trump name, the president is unlikely to get through any attempt to read, or have it read to him. The only way to challenge the amendment is through an overriding amendment, which would need two-thirds majorities in Congress and three-quarters of the 52 states to pass corresponding legislation, both of which are impossible as things stand. The president is thus only wasting taxpayers' money on litigation that is doomed to fail, making it clear that this is simply a performative exercise to distract from the scandals and corruption dogging his administration.
Trump's own approval rating has hit a second-term low of just 36%, with 59% of Americans disapproving of his performance. His deeply unpopular war against Iran, which he claimed would last just a few weeks, is now in its sixth month. Economic uncertainty and inflation are worrying millions of Americans. Meanwhile, the Epstein scandal continues to shadow his administration. This is apart from the president's reckless social media use and unhealthy obsession with ordering ugly and substandard improvements around Washington. Trump could try to correct one of his past wrongs, but since he is incapable of admitting fault, the only way for him to get embarrassing failures out of the news cycle is to fail at something new.