Tag: Eligibility Clause
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April Fool’s Day, 2026
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2026 (Feb. 7, 2026) — INTRODUCTION The Supreme Court has set April 1, 2026 as the date the Justices will hear oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara, the much anticipated “birthright citizenship” case. With any kind of luck, the Court will uphold President Trump’s efforts to end automatic “birthright citizenship” for every…
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Revisiting the Birthright Citizenship and nbC Issues
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2026 (Jan. 26, 2026) — INTRODUCTION As dedicated P&E readers are well aware, there is now pending in the Supreme Court the case of Trump v. Barbara. The case involves a challenge to President Trump’s Executive Order 14160 regarding the meaning of “birthright citizenship” under the 14th Amendment. Following a post by…
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Donald Trump is a Red Corvette
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2024 (Sep. 24, 2024) — As we approach one of the most consequential elections since the founding of the Republic, perhaps a brief, very brief refresher course in some of the fundamentals is in order. Yes, faithful P&E readers, foremost among those fundamentals is the issue of whether Kamala Devi Harris is…
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NFRA on the Natural Born Citizen Issue
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2024 (Aug. 27, 2024) — Well, whatta ya know. Yet another source – this time an established, tax-exempt IRS “527 Organization” rather than an individual human being – raises the issue of the likely compromised “natural born Citizen” (“nbC”) bona fides of Kamala Devi Harris. The National Federation of Republican Assemblies (“NFRA”)…
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The Natural Born Citizen Conundrum
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2024 (Aug. 7, 2024) — INTRODUCTION As long-time P&E readers know, your humble servant has for many years railed on about the “natural born Citizen” (“nbC”) issue and how it has been handled (and mishandled) by commentators, scholars and governmental agencies such as the Congressional Research Service (“CRS”). But now, in mid-2024,…
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A Critique of “On the Meaning of ‘Natural Born Citizen’”
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2024 (Apr. 2, 2024) — [Update, 5:58 p.m. EDT April 8, 2024: The last three paragraphs of the following initial segment of the author’s three-part analysis has been amended to reflect a discovered change in the subject article’s footnote #4.] Introduction In 2015, two former high officials in the Office of the…
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The Quisling at 1600
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2024 (Mar. 29, 2024) — The characterization of Brandon as “the slug at 1600” does not adequately describe him. A potential better term might be the “quisling slug at 1600.” Accordingly, a new, abbreviated moniker for the current occupant of the Oval Office is suggested: “the q-slug,” pronounced: “cue-slug.” The term “quisling”…
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Reason Prevails; Rationalization Fails
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2024 (Mar. 4, 2024) — Thank you…, thank you…, yes, your humble servant was right. The Colorado Supreme Court’s dumb decision upholding the Colorado Secretary of State’s determination to exclude President Trump from the primary ballot was stupid when rendered, as discussed here, and has now been reversed – ahem…, 9-zip –…
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The USSC Oral Arguments in “Trump v. Anderson”
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2024 (Feb. 9, 2024) — Well, oral arguments have been heard in the Supreme Court in the case of Trump v. Anderson (USSC Doc. 23-719). The case addresses the question of whether President Trump can be excluded from the primary election ballot in Colorado on the claim that Clause 3 of the…
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A Deeper Dive Into the nbC Pond
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2023 (Jun. 26, 2023) — Introduction Faithful P&E readers, two events precipitate this offering, which is intended to examine more closely one of the favorite “authorities” normally cited by the Left in its quest to redefine the term “natural born Citizen” as included by the Founders in Art. 2, § 1, Cl.…
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Revisiting the Heritage Guide to the Constitution
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2023 (May 13, 2023) — Introduction Recently, your humble servant addressed the flawed reasoning of the “Heritage Guide to the Constitution” (“Guide”) set out in its explanatory analysis of Art. 2, § 1, Cl. 5. This, of course, is the Constitution’s “natural born Citizen” (“nbC”) presidential Eligibility Clause, the source of increasing scrutiny…
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Response to Multiple Comments on the Natural Born Citizen Issue
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2022 (Mar. 18, 2022) — First, let us agree to disagree, but without being rancorous. There is a big difference between an honest, if ill-informed, debate and a heated argument…., unless the latter is preferred. With apologies for the length of this offering, there are many points to cover. Messrs. Becker, Fremick,…
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The Laity Complaint and Wong Kim Ark
by Joseph DeMaio, ©2020 (Nov. 9, 2020) — Introduction The Associated Press and a large swath of the Trump Derangement Syndrome media have declared the Biden-Harris ticket the winners of the 2020 general election. As noted here, media hacks are not the final arbiters of who wins elections. If they were, there would have been no…
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The Saga of the Dueling Anecdotes
“THE BEST EVIDENCE” by Joseph DeMaio, ©2020 (Oct. 19, 2020) — In the continuing saga of “dueling anecdotes” regarding the issue of what the Founders intended when they engrafted onto the Constitution in 1787 the “natural born Citizen” clause, Art. 2, § 1, Cl. 5, commenters Schuyler Colfax and Joanna Brady continue adding their observations. …
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Reader Asks Townhall.com Author Why Harris’s Eligibility Cannot be Explored
“WHY IS THERE SUCH RESISTANCE…?” by Anonymous (Aug. 29, 2020) — [Editor’s Note: On Saturday a reader sent the following to Townhall.com author Beth Baumann in response to her article contending that CNN is “coming to Kamala’s defense,” referring to vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris. CNN claimed in the referenced article, also published Saturday, that President…
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Of Neologisms, End-Around Runs and Gorillas: The Congressional Research Service 2016 Report on Presidential Eligibility, Part III
“A FALSE IMPRESSION” by Joseph DeMaio, ©2016 (Apr. 7, 2016) — [Editor’s Note: The following is a continuation of an in-depth analysis by legal scholar Joseph DeMaio of the January 11, 2016 Congressional Research Service (CRS) memo as it addresses, or fails by omission to address, the meaning and intent of the term “natural born…