Newsmax judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano strayed from the MAGA media narrative on Tuesday by blasting President Donald Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship as “troublesome,” warning it could lead to Trump attempting to “nullify” other parts of the Constitution.
During his “shock and awe” blitz of executive orders during his first day in office, Trump announced the United States would no longer grant automatic citizenship to children born in the country if at least one of their parents isn’t a lawful permanent resident or citizen. It would also prevent federal agencies from issuing documentation acknowledging these children as U.S. citizens.
The executive order, which comes amid the new administration’s crackdown on legal and illegal immigration, appears to be explicitly targeting children born to undocumented migrants or those with temporary visas. It also runs counter to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which grants citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.”
With Trump’s order already sparking multiple federal lawsuits from immigrant advocacy and civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Napolitano agreed with other legal experts who feel that the president’s attempt to discontinue birthright citizenship is blatantly illegal.
“It’s not going to be met without pushback, though, as we’ve discussed already on the show. The birthright citizenship, his plan to end that, is already being challenged by the ACLU,” anchor Emma Rechenberg noted.
“Well, that is a very troublesome thing he wants to do,” Napolitano interjected. “In my view, it is directly articulated in the Constitution. That would be like Joe Biden or Barack Obama saying I’m not going to obey the 2nd Amendment. I’m going to start confiscating guns even though the right to bear arms is directly articulated.”
The former judge further claimed that the president would face opposition not just from liberals on the issue, but also from the right and libertarians. Meanwhile, before co-anchor Shaun Kraisman could move on, Napolitano jumped in to add one final point.
“If he can nullify that portion of the Constitution, what else can he nullify? That will be the argument,” he concluded.
While this commentary may seem surprising on a blatantly pro-Trump network like Newsmax, which has attempted to build its audience by running to the right of Fox News, Napolitano has developed a reputation as an “anti-Trump truth-teller,” at least when it comes to legal analysis.
Before he was let go by Fox News amid allegations of sexual misconduct in 2021, Napolitano regularly battled with his network colleagues over Trump’s “acts of corruption” during the president’s first impeachment while arguing that the Mueller report did indeed show evidence of Trump-Russia collusion.
