"He's playing semantics." #217
It's his game. He can name it anything he likes. If that's the name of the game he's playing, that's the name of the game he's losing.
"The Oath says "preserve, protect, and defend" - it doesn't us the word "support"" #217
Here's
AHD's contribution, the definition of one of the words actually written into that specific Constitutional clause.
de·fend  (dĭ-fĕnd)
v. de·fend·ed, de·fend·ing, de·fends
v.tr.
1. a. To make or keep safe from danger, attack, or harm: a vaccine to defend the body from infection.
[Middle English defenden, from Old French defendre, from Latin dēfendere, to ward off; see gwhen- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. |
AHD also includes a synonyms list. "support" is not included.
Synonyms: defend, protect, guard, preserve, shield, safeguard
These verbs mean to make or keep safe from danger, attack, or harm.
Defend implies repelling or being ready to repel an attack:
The army defended the border against the enemy. The politician responded quickly to defend his reputation.
Protect often suggests keeping something safe by coming between it and any threat of harm or injury:
Police protected the stores from looters. Sunglasses protect your eyes.
Guard suggests keeping watch:
Their dog guarded the house against intruders.
To
preserve something is to protect it from future harm or alteration:
An environmental group purchased the wetland to preserve it from commercial development.
Shield suggests providing a barrier against something dangerous or destructive:
"Grant's remaining units made their way through heavy timber ... in turn, however, the woods shielded them from Confederate bullets until they were almost on top of the enemy line" (Brooks D. Simpson).
Safeguard implies the vigilant protection of something of great value or importance:
The Bill of Rights safeguards our individual liberties.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
Therefore Trump's defense seems to be, by me [Trump] substituting a word that is NOT in that Constitutional clause is not a synonym for those that are, because the Constitution isn't written as I Donald J. Trump wish it were, I as president was not bound by it.
- piffle -
I'm confident Trump is using the best arguments he can find to protect himself here. Apparently this word substitution ruse is the best Trump can do. If he had a better one, what's he saving it for?
