Philadelphia City Council introduced a resolution condemning President Donald Trump for referring to himself as a “king.”
President Donald Trump, through the White House's social media accounts, recently shared an illustration of himself wearing a golden crown along with the words "LONG LIVE THE KING," in all capitol letters.
And, Philadelphia City Councilmember Jaime Gauthier (D-3rd dist.) has taken issue with the posting.
The councilmember introduced a resolution during City Council's meeting at City Hall on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, that called for council to condemn the president's actions.
"A president’s words matter, but President Trump’s actions prove that he truly sees himself more like a monarch than a president. Just a month into his term, President Trump overreached his executive power on several occasions: he tried to overturn the constitutional right to birthright citizenship, shuttered federal agencies and programs enshrined into law by Congress, and declared himself above the law," Gauthier's office said in a statement on the resolution. "As the birthplace of American democracy and the city where this nation rejected the tyranny of a king, it is paramount that Philadelphia calls out this assault on the constitution and reaffirm how abnormal, inappropriate, and dangerous it is for a President of the United States to liken himself to, and act like, a king."
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The president issued the social media post following the U.S. Department of Transportation rescinding its approval of New York City's congestion pricing program on Wednesday in a letter to the state's governor.
The department, under President Donald Trump's administration, released a letter from Secretary Sean Duffy to New York State Governor Kathy Hochul saying that the agency decided to "terminate" approval of the congestion pricing pricing program, which it had originally granted on Nov. 21, 2024 under the Biden administration.
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In a response to the social media post, New York's Gov. Hochul said "We don't bow down to the king, never have, never will."
Gauthier's resolution received its first reading before council on Thursday. It is expected to receive a second reading and be voted on during City Council's next scheduled meeting on Feb. 27, 2025.
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