Trump Is Lying About the Insurrection Act

History shows it has only been used during state collapse, not as a discretionary presidential power

President Donald Trump is misrepresenting U.S. history to justify an extraordinary expansion of presidential power. In an interview aired recently, Trump said that while he sees “no reason right now” to invoke the Insurrection Act, “if I needed it, I’d use it,” calling the law “very powerful.” He then claimed that roughly 36% of U.S. presidents have use…