Former President Donald Trump argued in favor of presidential immunity, noting that serious policy measures, like former President Barack Obama’s drone strikes, could leave everyone who holds the office vulnerable once they leave the White House.
A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES MUST HAVE FULL IMMUNITY, WITHOUT WHICH IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM/HER TO PROPERLY FUNCTION. ANY MISTAKE, EVEN IF WELL INTENDED, WOULD BE MET WITH ALMOST CERTAIN INDICTMENT BY THE OPPOSING PARTY AT TERM END. EVEN EVENTS THAT “CROSS THE LINE”…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 18, 2024
He told Fox News, “I’m talking about [how] any president has to have immunity, because if you take immunity away from the president, it’s so important, you will have you have a president that’s not going to be able to do anything.”
“[W]hen he leaves office… the opposing party will indict the president for doing something that should have been good,” he added.
Trump then stated, “Obama dropped missiles and they ended up hitting a kindergarten or a school or an apartment house. A lot of people were killed.”
“Well, if that’s the case, he’s going to end up being indicted when he leaves office,” he concluded.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Obama ordered his first drone strike just three days into his presidency. During his term, he ordered over 542 drone strikes, which authorized the killing of 324 civilians.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism also reported that although the U.S. government claimed that just 116 “non-combatants” were killed by the Obama drone strikes, this did not reflect all of the reports.
They claimed, “This is a fraction of the 380 to 801 civilian casualty range recorded by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism from reports by local and international journalists, NGO investigators, leaked government documents, court papers and the result of field investigations.”
They also alleged that the actual number of civilians killed during the Obama-era was closer to six times higher than official reports and that the U.S. government report failed to release the year-by-year totals or specific details involving each individual strike.
In addition, watchdog groups like the international human rights organization, Reprieve, noted that the Obama administration, “shifted the goalposts on what counts as a ‘civilian’ to such an extent that any estimate may be far removed from reality,” per Aljazeera
“In US drone operations, reports suggest all ‘military aged males’ and potentially even women and children are considered ‘enemies killed in action’ unless they can ‘posthumously’ and ‘conclusively’ prove their innocence,” they added.
Even Obama himself admitted, “There’s no doubt that civilians were killed that shouldn’t have been,” via the PBS News Hour.
Trump has continuously noted that presidential immunity is necessary to ensure that the top elected official is able to do their job without fear of prosecution from political opposition after serving their term.
He is currently fighting multiple legal battles regarding his concerns over election integrity, his business dealings, and more.
He has decried the charges as “election interference” and a “weaponization of justice,” being that he is the number one contender in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, per RSBN.
According to NBC News, the Supreme Court decided that it would not immediately weigh in on the issue of presidential immunity last month.