Permission is one thing, a right is another
Wait, what are we saying here?
I hate this deflection. Of course POTUS has the right to over-ride CIA/FBI concerns on security clearances. He also has the right to launch a nuclear attack. He has the right to pardon vicious criminals. A right does not mean it’s a wise idea. https://t.co/V0HsYiKEFd
— Jim Himes (@jahimes) March 1, 2019
Does he? Does Trump have “an absolute right” (Conway’s term) to launch a nuclear attack? No matter what? According to whom?
No he doesn’t. He doesn’t have a “right” to launch an unprovoked nuclear attack on, say, Kenya, just because he feels like it or is grumpy or wants to distract people long enough for him to escape.
It may be that US rules are written in such a way that he is technically permitted to launch a nuclear attack [end of story, no further specific required], but that doesn’t translate to a “right.” The US president isn’t king of the planet, and no he does not have a “right” to drop nukes any time he feels like it. It’s not just that it’s not a wise idea, it’s that the Allies hanged people at Nuremberg for less. It would be a gross crime against humanity and he does not have anything that can be called a “right” to do it.
Talking about right as opposed to power is like talking about position as opposed to being a leader. Of course this should make none of us feel safe. He may have no right but he does have the power just as he has the position but he isn’t a leader.
Just because you have the legal right to do something, e.g. cheat on your partner, that doesn’t mean you have the moral right to do so.