President Donald Trump’s grasp of what’s happening on his watch is being debated, as the 78-year-old increasingly responds, “I don’t know” when asked basic questions.

Despite swearing—for the second time now—an oath to the U.S. Constitution, the President of the United States when asked if he is obligated to “uphold the Constitution” told NBC News’ Kristen Welker, “I don’t know.”

Trump, as The New York Times pointed out, offered the same answer when asked if everyone in the U.S. should be afforded due process rights—which are mandated by the Constitution.

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“I don’t know,” the President replied, twice. “I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know.”

Welker: Do you agree that everyone who is here deserves due process? Citizens and noncitizens?

Trump: I don’t know. I’m not a lawyer.

Welker: The 5th amendment says as much.. Don’t you need to uphold the constitution?

Trump: I don’t know pic.twitter.com/1y8POREX9S

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 4, 2025

VoteVets, a progressive political action committee (PAC), served up a scathing rebuke.

“He’s taken the oath twice—but now he’s not sure if due process matters. That’s not a gaffe. That’s a warning. Believe him. He’s telling you what he may burn down next,” the group posted on social media.

The nonpartisan advocacy group Patriotic Millionaires, which works to have wealthy Americans pay a larger portion in taxes and says “tax the rich” on its website, pointed to the President’s “I don’t know” response to upholding the Constitution.

“That is something that an authoritarian-dictator-wannabe would say, and we should absolutely take him at his word when he says this,” they wrote.

When Welker asked if he would run for a third term, Trump said he would not but admitted “I don’t know” if the Constitution prohibits it, but it’s “something you’re not allowed to do,” he said.

Back in April, Trump told reporters, “Many, many people come from the Congo. I don’t know what that is, but they came from the Congo.”

Trump: “People that were in jail for horrible — you know, they release jails from all over the world and release them. Not just South America. The Congo in Africa. Many many people come from the Congo. I don’t know what that is, but they came from the Congo.” pic.twitter.com/rGMHLIOlq7

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 17, 2025

On Wednesday, in an Oval Office press gaggle, reporters asked, “Mr. President, is your administration sending migrants to Libya?”

“I don’t know,” Trump replied. “You’ll have to ask Homeland Security.”

REPORTER: Is your administration sending migrants to Libya?

TRUMP: I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Homeland Security pic.twitter.com/5DgX2ZGGLp

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 7, 2025

Also on Wednesday, a reporter told Trump, “Your Treasury Secretary just told lawmakers that a tariff exemption for certain baby items like car seats is under consideration. Will you exempt some products that families rely on?”

“I don’t know,” was the President’s response, adding he will “think about it.”

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Trump was also asked about U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) announcing he opposed Trump’s pick to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

“I didn’t know that,” the President told reporters.

Back in October, after his infamous “they’re eating the dogs” attack on immigrants, Trump went on Fox News and was told, “You said ‘they’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats.’ That turned out not to be true.”

“I don’t know if it’s true or not,” the President quickly replied.

“You don’t know? It’s been debunked,’ the Fox News host declared.

“What about the goose, the geese? What about the geese? What happened there?” he was asked.

“I have no idea,” was the President’s reply.

Fox host: You said ‘they’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats.’ That turned out not to be true

Trump: I don’t know if it’s true or not

Fox host: You don’t know? It’s been debunked

Trump: What about the goose, the geese? I have no idea… (2024)
pic.twitter.com/SNryc0mr0U

— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) April 30, 2025

The Atlantic’s James Surowiecki, author of The Wisdom of Crowds, back in March noted, “Trump also didn’t know that his administration had invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport Tren de Aragua members, even though he had supposedly signed the executive order invoking it. ‘I don’t know when it was signed, because I didn’t sign it,’ he said.”

And when SignalGate hit, Trump told reporters, “I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic. To me it’s a magazine that’s going out of business. But I know nothing about it. You’re saying that they had what?”

Trump’s “I don’t know” remarks have become so frequent some have started to question why.

“Is somebody keeping a tracker of President ‘I don’t know’ Trump’s I don’t knows?” asked former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Juliette Kayyem. “It’s getting ridiculous. From Supreme Court decisions, to Libya prisons, to nominees, he has one answer. It’s not acceptable. He either isn’t in charge, is lying or has no capacity. I don’t know.”

It appears CNN has, at least in part, been keeping track.

CNN plays a montage of Trump saying “I don’t know” to six different questions yesterday.

This is embarrassing! pic.twitter.com/wgdnp3SI2q

— Ron Smith (@Ronxyz00) May 5, 2025

On Thursday, Trump announced his new, highly-controversial Surgeon General nominee. Asked why he picked her, Trump replied, “Because Bobby thought she was fantastic,” but, “I don’t know her.”

MSNBC columnist Michael A. Cohen commented, “Yet another piece of evidence that Trump is a bystander to the actions of his administration.”

CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner remarked, “The president says he doesn’t know the new Surgeon General but he appointed her because ‘Bobby thought she was terrific’. Who’s in charge here?”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

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Image via Reuters

Pope Leo XIV opposes President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, his brother said in a wide-ranging interview, saying he would see them as a “total injustice.”

“He sees the United States is headed in the wrong direction in terms of immigration, that this is a total injustice,” John Prevost said of his brother, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost—now Pope Leo XIV—in an interview with CBS Chicago.

“These are people. It doesn’t matter where they’re born. They are people first. And so they need to be treated as people first.”

Prevost suggested the Pope will weigh in on controversial topics.

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“I don’t think he’ll stay quiet for too long if he has something to say,” Prevost said, according to The New York Times. “I know he’s not happy with what’s going on with immigration. I know that for a fact. How far he’ll go with it is only one’s guess, but he won’t just sit back. I don’t think he’ll be the silent one.”

Even when he was young, “he had a deep feeling for the disenfranchised, for the poor, for those who were not listened to,” Prevost said, noting that he believes his brother will be “working for the underprivileged.”

On same-sex marriage, Prevost said, “I think he will follow what the Church has traditionally said about that.”

He also said his brother was good friends with Pope Francis and believes “he will be following in Francis’ footsteps,” Prevost said. “They were very good friends. They knew each other before he was pope, before my brother even was bishop.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

Pope Leo XIV sees the United States “heading in the wrong direction in terms of immigration,” his brother John Prevost says. pic.twitter.com/5klBCag1ad

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) May 9, 2025

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Image via Reuters

President Donald Trump is facing backlash after claiming that a sharp decline in port traffic—and a significant drop in goods entering the U.S.—is actually a positive development. When warned that the slowdown could cost truckers and dock workers their paychecks or even their jobs, Trump praised the downturn, arguing it means the country isn’t “losing money.”

“That means we lose less money, you know?” President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “When I see that, that means we lose less money. Look, China was making over a trillion, $1.1 trillion, in my opinion. You know, different numbers from $500 billion to a trillion or a trillion, I think it was 1.1 trillion. And frankly, if we didn’t do business, we would have been better off.”

“Okay, you understand that?” Trump continued. “So when you say it’s slowed down, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”

The President’s remarks were quickly criticized.

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U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) commented, “It’s not a good thing. Dock workers & truck drivers don’t think it’s a good thing. Businesses don’t think it’s a good thing.”

U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) wrote, “I represent the second largest container port in the U.S, I promise you it’s a bad thing.”

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins quoted Trump’s “good thing, not a bad thing” comment, then posted video of Seattle’s port commissioner saying, “We currently do not have any container ships at port right now.”

MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle, who spent 14 years at top financial services companies before starting her journalism career, wrote that she had just sent the President’s comments “to every wall st source I have that supported our President.”

“Every response I got was some sort of embarrassed emoji.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

Trump on port traffic: When you are saying it slowed down, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing pic.twitter.com/MXjo8l9159

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 8, 2025

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