A post Saturday on X and TruthSocial by President Donald Trump has Democrats and critics accusing him of acting like a dictator and declaring himself above the law.
“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” Trump wrote in the post. Trump did not elaborate and the White House offered no comment, but it later shared the post on its X account alongside Trump’s mug shot from the Fulton County, Georgia, election interference case.
He also posted the quote on his Truth Social platform and shared a user’s post with the quote set against a portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte on horseback.
The quote is often attributed to Napoleon, though the origins are disputed. A similar quote — “He who saves a nation violates no law” — is said by actor Rod Steiger playing Napoleon in the 1970 movie “Waterloo.”
In the weeks since assuming office, a number of Trump’s actions have raised questions of their legality.
His administration faces numerous lawsuits — and accusations of violating the U.S. Constitution — including for executive orders on freezing foreign aid and Elon Musk’s actions as head of the new Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump is the first current or former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime. Last month, a judge — citing “protections afforded to the office of the president” — sentenced him to an unconditional discharge in his criminal hush money case, sparing him punishment but cementing his felon status.
Trump’s post on Saturday sparked backlash from Democrats, who accused him of using the office of the presidency to justify unlawful or ethically dubious actions.
“Spoken like a true dictator,” wrote California Sen. Adam Schiff in an X post.
Democratic New York Rep. Ritchie Torres also criticized Trump’s post.
“Donald Trump seems to believe he can do whatever he wishes in the name of ‘saving the country,'” Torres posted. “In our constitutional republic, the means matter more than the ends. The US Constitution trumps the policy preferences of President Trump.”
In an interview on ABC News’ “This Week,” former RNC Chair Reince Priebus, who was Trump’s first chief of staff in his first term, downplayed the president’s words, calling the post “catnip for the media.”
“It’s entertainment for Trump. It’s a distraction,” Priebus said.
Priebus excused the post as mere trolling, saying Trump “enjoys taking a grenade out on a Saturday afternoon, throwing it on the floor and watching everybody react.”
“This is what the president does,” he said.
