Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) debated with late night talk show host Bill Maher about whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump had any moral high ground to stand on.
Trump has issued a flurry of executive orders that have resulted in nearly 60 lawsuits so far against him and his administration. Maher suggested on his talk show Real Time with Bill Maher on Saturday that the new president was acting “extra legally.”
FULL LIST OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS, ACTIONS, AND PROCLAMATIONS TRUMP HAS MADE AS PRESIDENT
“Now here’s where I got to push back because, as a member of Congress, under the previous administration, we would have inquiries. We would request information. We would want Cabinet secretaries and assistant secretaries and deputy secretaries to come before committee. We would send letter after letter after letter and get no response. The Biden administration operated literally in the shadows,” Donalds explained. “At least Donald Trump puts it out in the litany of orders that come out that day.”
“Well, that’s quite a charitable view of it,” Maher said while laughing. “Do you believe, as [Russell] Vought said, that we are in a post-constitutional time? Because I didn‘t get that from the Biden administration. They did make mistakes. Some of what you say is true, but a post-constitutional time?”
Maher was quoting White House Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought. He served as OMB Director during Trump’s first term and was recently confirmed to serve in the same role for the second time.
“If you believe that it is OK for the executive branch to suppress free speech, if you believe that it is OK for the executive branch to tell soldiers, to tell workers that they have to take a vaccine or they‘re going to lose their jobs, then yes, you are in a post-constitutional situation because then the executive becomes all-powerful,” Donalds said. “That’s what the Joe Biden presidency was. They were suppressing speech.”
“I was critical of that. It’s a little different than the head of the FBI saying, ‘We’re coming after our enemies,’” Maher said.
This time, Maher was quoting Trump’s FBI Director nominee Kash Patel in a reference to Patel’s 2023 book titled, Government Gangsters, in which he identified a list of people he referred to as “criminals.” The list included dozens of Democratic lawmakers and Republican lawmakers who have fallen out of favor with Trump.
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Trump’s administration has made several attempts to increase accessibility. The Department of Government Efficiency has its own X account that posts several times a day. Meanwhile, the White House press briefings are opening up to smaller outlets, reserving a rotating seat in the front row for reporters who weren’t traditionally present.
Additionally, Trump had thousands more words to add to the record during his first week in office compared to his predecessor. Meanwhile, Biden’s addresses during his first week in office added up to 24,259 words, according to Factba.se. Biden had a low 37 press conferences over his four years, which Trump doubled during his first term as president and is expected to beat this term.
