Does any president of the United States have total power? President Trump declared that “when somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total.”

The Founding Fathers and the Constitution would say a resounding “no”!

The president can do only what is listed in Article 2 of the Constitution. All presidential powers are limited by that list. Powers not on the list go to the states (reserved powers) per the 10th Amendment. Power is limited and shared with the legislative/judicial branches and the states. America has checks and balances to make sure no one gets total power. That is how a federal government works — no total powers anywhere.

Governments with total power are run by kings, dictators, despots and authoritarian regimes, such as China, North Korea and Russia. Trump is friends with several of those leaders.

The only “total” associated with President Trump is his total lack of knowledge, comprehension and understanding of the basic concepts and principles of American government, established by the founders of the Constitution.

One has to wonder what Trump believes the reasons were for fighting King George III in the American Revolution. Why did the Founding Fathers work so hard to make sure this country would never have a monarch with total power?

President Trump’s statement, “When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total,” shows him to be totally oblivious to the workings of the federal government.

Crystal Ward, Lewiston