Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016/Federalism

Donald Trump announced his presidential run on June 16, 2015.

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CANDIDATE SUMMARY

Trump was critical of the U.S. Supreme Court for upholding the Affordable Care Act and thereby maintaining the constitutionality of Obamacare.

Trump said Indiana Gov. Mike Pence "didn't do a good job” and “wasn’t clear in what he said" when he signed Indiana's Religious Freedom and Restoration Act.

He asserted that religious freedom and nondiscrimination aren't “mutually exclusive.”

Trump was endorsed by the NRA and opposes gun-free zones.

He believes there would be fewer casualties of mass shootings if victims had guns.

Judiciary

• At a town hall on December 12, 2015, Donald Trump criticized Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts for upholding the Affordable Care Act. Trump said, “What he did to Obamacare was disgraceful and I think he did it because he wanted to be popular in the beltway or something, because he did it the first time, and should have never done it and that would have killed it.” Trump added that Justice Clarence Thomas was “highly underrated.”

• In July 2012, Trump called the Supreme Court's decision maintaining the constitutionality of Obamacare "a disaster." Trump added Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the opinion, was "extremely disloyal" and "wanted to be loved by the Washington establishment."

• In April 2012, Trump criticized President Barack Obama for suggesting it would be unprecedented if the Supreme Court overturned Obamacare, saying, "I think he paid great disrespect to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the Supreme Court for a reason. And it almost is as though he didn't care what they said and they shouldn't be making the decision, and this decision is above them, and they don't exist. And I would think it would be very insulting to go to the Supreme Court with what he said."

Statements in response to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

See also: Justice Ginsburg's comments on Donald Trump, 2016

• In an interview with Maggie Haberman of The New York Times published July 12, 2016, Trump made the following remarks regarding Justice Ginsburg's comments about his possibly becoming president: "I think it's highly inappropriate that a United States Supreme Court judge gets involved in a political campaign, frankly ... I think it's a disgrace to the court and I think she should apologize to the court. I couldn't believe it when I saw it .. That she should be saying that? It's so beneath the court for her to be making statements like that. It only energizes my base even more. And I would hope that she would get off the court as soon as possible."
• In a posted tweet on July 13, Trump called for Justice Ginsburg's resignation, saying that she "has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot - resign!"

First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

• When asked by Fox Business’ Stuart Varney on October 21, 2015, if the U.S. should adopt the British proposal to close mosques to combat Islamic extremism, Donald Trump said, “Absolutely. I think it’s great.” Varney then questioned if such a policy would be possible in the U.S. due to “religious freedom.” Trump said, “Well, I don’t know. I mean, I haven’t heard about the closing of the mosque. It depends, if the mosque is, you know, loaded for bear, I don’t know. You’re going to have to certainly look at it.”

• In September 2015, Trump called the detention of Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a “messy situation.” He said, “I hated that and now she’s out. But I must tell you that, you know, we are a land of laws — I would like to see her get a different job or at least let the clerks do that particular work. We are…in a position that’s been a terrible situation that’s taken place out there, and I understand both sides of the argument. And I embrace both sides of the argument. … You can embrace both sides of an argument.”

• Trump claimed in a May 2015 interview that if he were elected president, he would "be the greatest representative of the Christians they've had in a long time."

• In May 2015, Trump denounced the "Draw the Prophet" contest Pamela Geller organized, saying, "This is taunting. And all it does is cause trouble."

• When asked about the Indiana's Religious Freedom and Restoration Act in April 2015, Trump responded that Indiana Governor Mike Pence "didn't do a good job. He wasn't clear in what he said." Trump then asserted that religious freedom and nondiscrimination aren't "mutually exclusive."

Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

• Donald Trump tweeted on June 15, 2016, that he planned to meet with the National Rifle Association (NRA) to discuss “not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the no fly list, to buy guns.” The NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action responded in a statement that it would be “happy to meet with Donald Trump” and that it “believes that terrorists should not be allowed to purchase or possess firearms, period.”

• The National Rifle Association (NRA) endorsed Donald Trump on May 20, 2016. Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA, said in a statement, “If Hillary Clinton gets the opportunity to replace Antonin Scalia with an anti-gun Supreme Court justice, we will lose the individual right to keep a gun in the home for self-defense. … So the choice for gun owners in this election is clear. And that choice is Donald Trump.” During his speech at the NRA-ILA forum in Kentucky on May 20, 2016, Trump made a similar allegation, stating that Clinton “wants to abolish the Second Amendment.”
  • Clinton responded to Trump on May 21, 2016, calling his policy to eliminate gun-free zones in schools “dangerous.” She continued, “Parents, teachers and schools should have the right to keep guns out of classrooms. Just like Donald Trump does at many of his hotels by the way.”
  • Trump partially denied the charge on May 22, 2016, during an interview. “I don’t want to have guns in classrooms. Although, in some cases, teachers should have guns in classrooms,” he said.
  • Trump clarified on May 23, 2016, that he supported “school resource officers” and trained teachers carrying guns in schools. He said, “The problem with gun-free zones is it's like offering up candy to bad people. They hear gun-free zones and they go in there with their guns blazing." He maintained his criticism of gun-free zones, but backed away from his call to eliminate all gun-free zones in schools. Instead he said, they would only be eliminated "in some cases."

• During the sixth Republican presidential primary debate, on January 14, 2016, Donald Trump discussed his position on the Second Amendment. He said “I am a Second amendment person. If we had guns in California on the other side where the bullets went in the different direction, you wouldn't have 14 or 15 people dead right now. If even in Paris, if they had guns on the other side, going in the opposite direction, you wouldn't have 130 people plus dead. So the answer is no and what Jeb said is absolutely correct. We have a huge mental health problem in this country. We're closing hospitals, we're closing wards, we're closing so many because the states want to save money. We have to get back into looking at what's causing it. The guns don't pull the trigger. It's the people that pull the trigger and we have to find out what is going on. We have to protect our 2nd amendment and you cannot do this and certainly what Barack Obama was doing with the executive order. He doesn't want to get people together, the old-fashioned way, where you get Congress. You get the Congress, you get the Senate, you get together, you do legislation. He just writes out an executive order. Not supposed to happen that way.”

• Trump said during a campaign rally in Vermont on the night of January 7, 2016, that he would end gun-free zones at schools and military sites. "I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools — you have to — and on military bases on my first day. It gets signed my first day,” Trump pledged. He added, "You know what a gun-free zone is to a sicko? That's bait."

• In an interview on CNN on January 4, 2016, Trump said of President Obama’s use of executive authority to expand background checks on gun buyers, “Pretty soon you won't be able to get guns. It's another step in the way of not getting guns.”

• Trump said in a statement to Breitbart on November 18, 2015, that concealed carry permit holders have an obligation to be armed. He wrote, “Carrying a weapon is not always feasible or appropriate. However, given the increased tensions that are the result of continued, escalating terrorism around the world, more legitimately armed individuals on the streets is a positive outcome. … I will carry more often than I have in the past, and I am sure other concealed permit holders will do the same. Do we have an obligation to carry? The answer is ‘yes,’ but we must do it in such a way as to raise serious doubts in the minds of those who might be considering violence in America. Deterring violence is far better than dealing with the aftermath of an act of terror. Less blood, more security. That is what will make America great again.”

• Trump said on November 14, 2015, that strict gun control laws in France led to more deaths in the Paris terrorist attacks. “You can say what you want, but if they had guns -- if our people had guns, if they were allowed to carry -- it would have been a much, much different situation. I hear it all the time, you know. You look at certain cities that have the highest violence, the highest problem with guns and shootings and killings -- Chicago is an example, toughest gun laws in the United States, nothing but problems. So our country better get smart because we're not smart right now,” he said.

• During the third Republican debate on October 28, 2015, Trump said that he opposed gun-free zones. Trump noted, "I feel that the gun-free zones and, you know, when you say that, that's target practice for the sickos and for the mentally ill. That's target. They look around for gun-free zones. You know, we could give you another example -- the Marines, the Army, these wonderful six soldiers that were killed. Two of them were among the most highly decorated -- they weren't allowed on a military base to have guns. And somebody walked in and shot them, killed them. If they had guns, he wouldn't be around very long. I can tell you, there wouldn't have been much damage. So, I think gun-free zones are a catastrophe. They're a feeding frenzy for sick people."

• In an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on October 11, 2015, Trump said he “sometimes” carries a gun. “I feel much better being armed,” he said.

• Trump suggested on October 4, 2015, that a mass shooting at an Oregon community college would have had fewer casualties if more people were armed. He said, “I can make the case that if there were guns in that room other than [the shooter's], fewer people would have died. Fewer people would have been so horribly injured.” He also pointed to mental illness and “copycat” behavior as causes of such violent incidents.

• In an April 2015 interview with Breitbart, Trump said, "It is so important that we maintain the Second Amendment and that we maintain it strongly. And one of the main reasons is because the good people, the upstanding people, follow laws and norms but the bad ones don’t. So if the Second Amendment weren’t there to protect our rights and someone tampered with them, the good people would be affected but the bad people wouldn’t care–they couldn’t care less. It is absolutely imperative that we maintain the Second Amendment in its strongest form." Trump also pointed to Chicago and New York to note "the areas that are most heavily restricted have the most crime."

• Trump suggested the 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado and the 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo's Paris office could have had better outcomes if some of the victims had guns.

• In 2000, Trump declared in his book, The America We Deserve, "I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun. With today’s Internet technology we should be able to tell within 72-hours if a potential gun owner has a record." Trump also suggested it was wrong that Democrats "want to confiscate all guns" and Republicans "refuse even limited restrictions."

Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

• Donald Trump called for a boycott of Apple on February 19, 2016, to put pressure on the company to cooperate with the government, which wanted Apple's help to hack into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters. "Boycott Apple until such time as they give that information," Trump said at a campaign event in South Carolina. "Apple ought to give the security for that phone, OK. What I think you ought to do is boycott Apple until such a time as they give that security number. How do you like that? I just thought of it. Boycott Apple," Trump said. Apple argued against cooperating with the government in a February 16, 2016, open letter citing concerns that the move would render all iPhones vulnerable by creating a master key that would be able to open other phones.

• Trump said on February 17, 2016, that Apple should follow the court order requiring it to aid the U.S. government in hacking the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters. “To think that Apple won't allow us to get into her cell phone -- who do they think they are? No, we have to open it up,” he said. Apple argued that giving the government the ability to access the phone would render all iPhones vulnerable. "The implications of the government’s demands are chilling," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. "The government suggests this tool could only be used once, on one phone. But that’s simply not true. Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices. In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks -- from restaurants and banks to stores and homes."

• According to a May 2015 article in The Daily Signal, Trump suggested the National Security Agency (NSA) should be allowed to continue its surveillance with "proper oversight." Trump said, "I support legislation which allows the NSA to hold the bulk metadata. For oversight, I propose that a court, which is available any time on any day, is created to issue individual rulings on when this metadata can be accessed."

• Although Trump criticized Edward Snowden for leaking information on the National Security Agency's surveillance program in a June 2013 interview with CNN's Piers Morgan, he acknowledged people want both privacy and national security. Trump questioned, "You know, where do they stop? How far do they go? What kind of power do they have? So it is a point of view and some very conservative people feel that way and some, frankly, very liberal people. I mean, we're looking at a lot of people are concerned about how far are they going to go."

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