In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte led a coup d'état in France, seizing absolute power. In doing so, he violated the constitution and the country's laws, but justified it by claiming he was saving the nation. This led to the attribution of the phrase:

“He who saves the nation violates no law.”

(though there is no official historical confirmation of Napoleon ever saying this).

In 1804, Napoleon once again defied French law, this time by crowning himself Emperor, once again claiming it was necessary to save France.

Today, Trump repeated Napoleon’s phrase on X, with the official White House account reposting it shortly after.