Every year, more than 800,000 people take a 10-question civics test as part of the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. More than 92% pass on the first try.
But if you were to ask these same questions of President Donald Trump and his top advisers, I’m not sure if their answers would be accepted by a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services officer.
Let’s compare public statements from Trump and his allies with history and civics facts provided for test-takers by the U.S. government. Keep in mind that “passing” this portion of the test means merely getting six out of 10 questions correct.
What is the supreme law of the land?
Correct answer: the Constitution.
While speaking at a White House event for the National Governors Association in February, Trump asked Maine Gov. Janet Mills if she intended to follow his executive order on transgender athletes. She said her state would comply with state and federal laws. Trump responded, “We are the federal law.” It’s hard say exactly what Trump meant. Is he personally the law? Or the executive branch? Or the federal government? But any interpretation is hard to square with either the separation of powers or federalism, especially since Trump was referring to an executive order.
What is the rule of law?
Correct answer: No one is above the law.
In January, Trump posted a supposed quote from French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte on his Truth Social and X accounts, then reposted it from the White House X account and pinned it to the top of his feed. A day later, he reposted a variation of it with a portrait of Napoleon. The quote: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”
Trump adviser Elon Musk, meanwhile, has been known to claim, “The only rules are the ones dictated by the laws of physics. Everything else is a recommendation.”
What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
Correct answers: Checks and balances, or the separation of powers.
In a May 2024 podcast on President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness, now-Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino openly laughed at the idea of checks and balances. “That’s really funny,” he told his listeners, arguing that “the only thing that matters” is power.
YES!! https://t.co/l8hq3P0Ol5
— Dan Bongino (@dbongino) May 10, 2024
In response to an order from a judge barring the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive Treasury Department data, Vice President JD Vance posted on X that “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.” Around the same time, Trump said at a news briefing, “It seems hard to believe that a judge could say, ‘We don’t want you to do that,’ so maybe we have to look at the judges because I think that’s a very serious violation.”
Musk has gone even further, calling for the firing of federal judges, who serve lifetime appointments under the Constitution. “This evil judge must be fired!” he posted on X in February, in an apparent reference to Judge John Bates. (Bates has ruled against the Trump administration in recent months and presided over multiple Jan. 6 riot cases.)
Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?
Correct answers: Provide schooling, provide police and fire departments, issue driver’s licenses, approve zoning and land use.









