“You people with this phony Emoluments Clause.” — Donald Trump, Oct. 21, 2019

“No Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” — U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 8

You are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts. Lying about the contents of the U.S. Constitution would be laughable if it weren’t so terrifying. We have an elected leader who is so void of morals and ethics that he lies about just about everything, including the contents of the very document he took an oath to serve, protect and defend.

People who don’t think the very core of our democracy is at risk aren’t paying attention, as he talks about “when I took over the United States,” refers to it as “my military” and their leaders as “my generals.” That is the language of a dictator. Continuing to support this behavior endangers the very foundations upon which our nation was built.

The Founding Fathers were worried about a leader like this, which is why they set up three branches of government with checks and balances and provided for a way to remove from office someone who abuses their power.

It has taken nearly 250 years to get to this place, but we only have ourselves to blame if we don’t take action. This is not about a political party. It is about a man who is so out of control he is destroying the fabric of our nation and elected leaders who won’t stand up for their nation ahead of their party.

There is nothing phony about that.