Maine Sen. Angus King continues to sound the alarm about President Donald Trump's efforts to consolidate power and use it to circumvent Congress and against his political foes. He's also warning conservatives about the loss of constitutional order and traditional checks on the president's authority.
Appearing on Maine Public’s call-in show Maine Calling, the independent senator focused almost exclusively on Trump's actions to punish law firms, universities, states — including Maine — and individuals.
King's comments yielded a flood of emails and phone calls from those opposed to the president's actions. But he said the president's supporters should be worried, too.
"I'm worried about setting out on a path that compromises the very basis of the separation of powers that's there to protect us, to protect us all," he said.
King said the president's conduct, if unchecked by Congress and the public, would become precedent for whoever succeeds him — potentially a Democrat.
He also lamented Congress' unwillingness to use its authority to curtail the president's prolific and chaotic use of tariffs and defiance of court orders. He argued that too many Republicans are relying too heavily on the courts to stop Trump and that others don't want to acknowledge what's happening.
King also praised Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, for acknowledging this week that she and others in her party fear the current moment and Trump's penchant for retaliation.
She also said that she, too, is also anxious about speaking out.
"We are all afraid,” Murkowski said, according to the Alaska Daily News. “It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before. And I’ll tell ya, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right."
