Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Paul Ryan Slammed Donald Trump for His Plan to End Birthright Citizenship, and Trump Just Fired Back

Uh-oh.

Retiring U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) is pushing back against President Donald Trump's threat to end birthright citizenship with an executive order.

Trump "obviously cannot do that," Ryan told Kentucky talk radio station WVLK in an interview on Tuesday.


“You cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order," Ryan said. "As a conservative, I’m a believer in following the plain text of the Constitution, and I think in this case the 14th Amendment is pretty clear, and that would involve a very, very lengthy constitutional process. But where we obviously totally agree with the president is getting at the root issue here, which is unchecked illegal immigration.”

On Wednesday, Trump fired back at Ryan, whom the president thinks "should be "focusing on holding the majority rather than giving his opinions on Birthright Citizenship, something he knows nothing about!"

Those that oppose the president begrudgingly found themselves coming to Ryan's defense, but they made some good points.

Ryan certainly knows more about it than Trump.

Others pointed out the president's hypocrisy on how he approaches constitutional amendments; namely, why is the 14th Amendment subject to change while the 2nd isn't?

Trump, as president, does not have the power to change the Constitution.

Though one person asked an awkward question:

Also breaking from the president, albeit less blatantly, was Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX), who said birthright citizenship is "a symptom of a bigger problem. And my position on immigration is pretty simple: legal immigration is good, illegal immigration is bad."

Cornyn believes the solution lies with Congress.

"We need less posturing and less rhetoric on this and more solutions," Cornyn said. "I know the president is enormously frustrated, and I am frustrated too, about our inability to work together on a bipartisan basis to solve the underlying problem, but that is what I think we have to do."

On Tuesday, Trump boasted that he alone could issue an executive order ending birthright citizenship because "they're saying" he can.

"It was always told to me that you needed a constitutional amendment. Guess what? You don't," Trump told Axios. "You can definitely do it with an Act of Congress," he added, "but now they're saying I can do it just with an executive order."

Trump did not specify who told him he could do that right before he falsely claimed the United States is the only country that offers citizenship to babies born on its soil.

"We're the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States ... with all of those benefits," Trump continued. "It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. And it has to end."

In fact, more than 30 countries offer some form of birthright citizenship. And precedent is not on president's side.

The 14th Amendment was ratified on July 9, 1868. It reads: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

The Supreme Court in 1898 ruled in United States v. Wong Kim Ark that anyone born in the United States, regardless of their parents' immigration status, shall be granted American citizenship. This landmark decision has set a legal precedent for more than a century.

"The 14th Amendment's citizenship guarantee is clear," according to Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project. "This is a transparent and blatantly unconstitutional attempt to sow division and fan the flames of anti-immigrant hatred in the days ahead of the midterms."

But not everyone agrees.

John Eastman, a constitutional scholar and director of Chapman University's Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, said the language of the 14th Amendment is key. He told Axios that "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" means citizenship only for people with green cards or legal residency.

Either way, if Trump does issue such an executive order, "the courts would have to weigh in in a way they haven't," Eastman said.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who has recently forged a political alliance with Trump, plans on introducing legislation to end birthright citizenship, which he called "absurd policy."

"This policy is a magnet for illegal immigration out of the mainstream of the developed world,"  Graham said earlier this week, "and needs to come to an end."

More from People/donald-trump

Millie Bobby Brown
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Millie Bobby Brown Just Revealed Her Real Middle Name—And Fans Are Floored

Fans of UK actor Millie Bobby Brown did a double-take when she revealed her actual middle name wasn't "Bobby" during a press tour to promote her new sci-fi adventure comedy film, The Electric State.

Brown emerged as a star for her role playing Eleven in the Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things, for which she received two nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mark Kelly; Elon Musk
Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images; Kevin Lamarque - Pool/Getty Images

Dem Senator Fires Back At Elon Musk After Musk Called Him 'A Traitor' For Visiting Ukraine

After billionaire Elon Musk called Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly "a traitor" for visiting Ukraine amid the country's ongoing war with Russia, Kelly perfectly shamed him for the attack.

Kelly, a former U.S. Navy combat pilot and astronaut, made his third visit to Ukraine since 2023, where he visited a military hospital and met with Red Cross staff. During his visit, he spoke with wounded service members and spent time with pilots who have flown combat missions defending against Russian air attacks.

Keep ReadingShow less
Patrick Brazeau, Don Jr.
Patrick Brazeau/Facebook, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Canadian Senator Challenges Don Jr. To A Boxing Match—And We're Grabbing The Popcorn

Canadian Senator Patrick Brazeau said he is 100% serious about putting his dukes up to face off against Donald Trump Jr. in a boxing match.

Brazeau's challenge to go into the ring with Republican President Donald Trump's eldest son is in the spirit of charity, and to settle tariff war tensions between the U.S. and Canada.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lauren Boebert; Al Green
Andrea Renault/Star Max/GC Images; Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Congressional Black Caucus Foundation

Boebert Slammed After Making Racist 'Pimp Cane' Comment About Dem Rep.

Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert was criticized after claiming during an interview with the far-right television network Real America's Voice that Texas Democratic Representative Al Green shook his "pimp cane" at President Donald Trump during Trump's address to a joint session of Congress last week.

During Trump’s speech on Tuesday, March 4, Green stood and passionately denounced potential Republican cuts to Medicaid, dramatically pointing his cane at the president. When asked to sit, the 77-year-old lawmaker refused and was ultimately escorted out of the chamber.

Keep ReadingShow less
J.D. Vance; screenshot of J.D. Vance greeted by protesters
Brandon Bell/Getty Images; CNN

JD Vance Claims Pro-Ukraine Protesters 'Shouted' At His 3-Year-Old—But Video Shows Otherwise

Vice President J.D. Vance was criticized after he claimed in a post on X that a group of "Slava Ukraini" protesters shouted at him while he was out for a walk with his 3-year-old daughter, only for the backlash to intensify when video taken by the protesters seemed to contradict his story.

Though Vance described the dialogue as a mostly respectful conversation, his post betrayed his anger at something that didn't happen at all.

Keep ReadingShow less