Colonel Lewis Nicola offered George Washington the idea of becoming king of the United States of America in 1782. He rejected the notion. Instead, Washington was elected president of the United States with 69 electoral votes, winning the support of each elector in the 1788-1789 presidential election.
Substantial differences exist between the two heads of state. A king inherits his position and is ruler for life unless he abdicates. A president is chosen in an election, either directly by the people or through a representative system such as the Electoral College.
In an absolute monarchy, a king is the unrestricted ruler. His word is law. In other nations, such as England, the monarch is a figurehead, with political decisions made by elected and appointed officials.
The President of the United States has limited powers. He controls the executive branch of the Government, while laws are made by the legislature, and the judicial branch interprets them.
Many presidents wish they were king; some push the boundaries, ignoring the legislative and judicial branches.
President Joe Biden is a perfect example.
After Biden started forgiving student loan debt, the Supreme Court in June 2023, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that federal law does not allow a president to cancel student loan debt. In this case over $430 billion. The court labeled it unconstitutional.
In February 2024, Biden ignored this ruling when he issued an executive order to cancel $1.2 billion in student debt. He then bragged that the Supreme Court ‘didn’t stop’ him from canceling student loans.
In fact, Democrats embraced executive power in the Biden Administration. They wanted Biden to do more.
Biden also elevated his authority to that of a king when he claimed emergency powers under COVID-19 to shut down the economy, halt travel, and require mandatory vaccinations.
It was not that long ago when liberals wanted Barack Obama to rule like a monarch, pushing him to stretch the limits of his authority.
In a 2012 op-ed, CNN contributor Dean Obeidallah argued, “Liberals want Obama to be a king, not a president.” He continued, “What’s clear is that the liberals speaking out don’t want a president, they want a king. Albeit a liberal king—but still a king, who would be unrestrained by congress as well as the checks and balances enshrined in our Constitution.”
One week after Obeidallah published his op-ed, Obama signed the controversial Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive order to protect illegal immigrants in America. When he signed this order, he bypassed congress.
Just two years before, expressing his frustration with congress over immigration law, Obama said, “I am not king. I can’t do these things just by myself.”
Looks like he changed his mind.
On Saturday, Progressive Democrats organized and held over 2,500 “No Kings” protests in all 50 states. One of the main reasons for these demonstrations is President Donald Trump’s decision to federalize the National Guard and deploy troops to major U.S, cities to fight crime and protect federal law enforcement, including ICE, from rioters.
Organizers want us to believe that this is new. Under the Militia Acts of 1792, congress authorized the president to federalize state militias to stop insurrections and enforce federal law. Both George Washington—to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion—and Abraham Lincoln, during the Civil War, did this.
In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower deployed 1,200 Army troops to Little Rock, Arkansas. They were put in charge of 10,000 Arkansas National Guardsmen to escort nine Black students chosen to integrate Central High.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy activated the Mississippi National Guard to enforce the integration of the University of Mississippi. Kennedy had to do it again in 1963, this time using the Alabama National Guard to integrate the University of Alabama.
President Johnson activated state guardsmen in three different instances: Martin Luther King’s march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama; a 1957 uprising in Detroit; and Riots in Washington, D.C., following MLK’s assassination.
In 1992, during the Los Angels Riots, President George H.W. Bush invoked the Insurrection Act to federalize California National Guard troops. He also sent in FBI SWAT teams, federal riot control police and 4,500 federal soldiers.
In an op-ed posted earlier this summer, before the first “No Kings” march, Elizabeth Stauffer summed it up this way,
“If Democrats are consistent in anything, it’s their hypocrisy. The “No Kings” protests held across the country on Saturday—aimed at painting President Trump as a would-be tyrant—are rich coming from the same crowd that once applauded every power grab under Obama. Their outrage isn’t about principle; it’s about power. And when it comes to attacking Trump, there’s almost no line they won’t cross and no irony they won’t ignore.”
If you would like to learn more, please click on the links below.
https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/was-george-washington-really-offered-king-us.htm
https://www.historicalindex.org/what-is-the-difference-between-a-president-and-a-king.htm
https://www.havefunwithhistory.com/the-3-branches-of-government/
https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-op-ed-governing-like-a-king-biden-hurting-americans/
https://www.foxnews.com/media/biden-brags-supreme-court-stop-canceling-student-loans-happy-break-law
https://www.history.com/articles/national-guard-federal-troops-deployments
