In reference to an article (“Trump ignores orders, judge says,” March 18), Donald J. Trump is not the first president in American history to ignore a court ruling regarding the removal of unwanted individuals. When Supreme Court Justice John Marshall ruled against the relocation of Native Americans in Worcester v. Georgia, 1832, President Andrew Jackson is alleged to have remarked “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.” Whereupon, Jackson invoked the “Trail of Tears” and relocated hundreds of Cherokee tribespeople to what is now Oklahoma. Neither Jackson, nor the state of Georgia, paid any heed to Marshall’s ruling. Activism by judges was as unpopular then as it is now, particularly when they act out against the separation of powers.

President Jackson is also known for descending from a terrace at the White House in mid-speech to beat a heckler with his hickory stick. Wouldn’t it have been great to see President Trump beat Chuck Schumer with a stick when he threatened a Supreme Court Justice with unleashing a whirlwind, or how about Maxine Waters when she encouraged people to harass and harangue public officials they don’t like by driving them out of restaurants and gas stations? I mean, who pays their daughter $700,000 per year to stuff envelopes without expecting to get caught? Only a corrupt moron. Members of Congress are expected to be statesmen, not foulmouthed rabble rousers, and they should respect the office of the president of the United States.

Teddy Roosevelt was another larger than life president who understood separation of powers. As commander-in-chief, he wanted to send our navy on an around-the-world goodwill tour. His detractors in Congress opposed it and refused to appropriate any funds for the trip as they felt is was a crass display of force. Roosevelt asked his advisers how much money was available. He was told there was enough to send them halfway, to which he replied, “Send them, and if Congress wants to bring them back, that’s up to them.”

Unfortunately, we’ll never get to see people like Schumer, Waters, and Tlaib get the physical comeuppance they deserve. However, the popular vote and the electoral victory have given President Trump the proverbial “big stick” and “bully pulpit” in the form of a mandate. He’s using that stick to give the left the political and ideological thrashing of their lives and they’re having a meltdown while their party is in complete disarray. Chuck Schumer is even afraid to stick his head out of the swamp and go on his book tour, lest he be harassed, harangued, and possibly attacked by people of his own party, because they feel he knuckled to President Trump. I guess we won’t be seeing any pictures of a bloody Chuck Schumer, fist in the air, exhorting “FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!”. He’ll be too busy slithering in the primordial ooze inside the Beltway.

We’re lucky to have a president who understands the separation of powers and is not intimidated by activist judges, career politicians and bureaucrats, but puts the welfare of America and its citizens above the interests of swamp dwellers, and the deep state.

Ain’t it great?

— Salvatore Fili, Sparks