Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Last week, Donald Trump said, “When somebody is the president of the United States the authority is total. And that’s the way it’s got to be. It’s total.” April 13, 2020.

Then Mike Pence said “the authority of the president of the United States during national emergencies is unquestionably plenary” (unqualified, absolute, from the Oxford English Dictionary).

These remarks were made during the Coronavirus Task Force evening briefings, which would be more aptly named the Trump Comedy Hour if the whole situation wasn’t so tragic.

Such claims by Trump and Pence completely ignore the Constitution and particularly the Tenth Amendment that guarantees States’ Rights. A few Republicans objected to these remarks, but the vast majority looked the other way.

What happened to the “Don’t Tread on Me” States’ Rights advocates? They seem to have been totally cowed by this authoritarian.

Now there are protests about stay-at-home closures, and Trump is encoura...