Trump can NOT unilaterally force any private property to be acquired under eminent domain. If your private property is located where a proposed hi-way will go through, of course the government can force you to sell the property to government. It is asinine to think some individual can hold up the construction of a public facility because that individual wants to hold on to that property.
This is not a left wing or a right wing issue. It is an issue where the ELECTED government officials have the decision making power. I see nothing wrong with that, so long as the government pays fair compensation.
You may consider it asinine that such a thing could happen. I am here to tell you that it does. The law is a structure that is populated with a fallible and often perverse humanity. Kelo is bad law; it sanctions what you say is impossible; only the formalities must be maintained. The (new) substance of the law, courtesy of Kelo, is that powerful private individuals can steal specific properties for their own use via the puppetry of local governments, providing the thief offers an illusory promise that they will put the stolen property to good use. Seriously. Look it up. Disbelieve me if you wish. I am an attorney and I’m telling you, your notion of how things work doesn’t square with either my experience of the law, or the large and growing body of commentary on the new and (un)improved doctrine of eminent domain:
“In the end, the United States Supreme Court held, five to four, that the city could take her home and transfer it to a private developer for private profit, despite the fact that the Fifth Amendment only allows government to take property ‘for public use.’” From http://americandreamcoalition.org/landuse/Sandefur.pdf
Also see http://gonzagalawreview.org/files/2011/02/NicholsonMota.pdf
Many other sources abound.
Bottom line, Trump likes Kelo. He has said he agrees with it 100%, and when he explains why, it is entirely in collectivist terms. He is therefore not a conservative, and voting for him is equal to voting for Obama.
I am not much of one for repeating myself in a conversation like this because I charge a lot per hour and can make better use of my time than stating the obvious ad infinitum. If you wish to move the conversation forward by actually addressing the legal reality of Kelo and how Trump is in fact using it, fine. If not, we have reached an impasse and I will not proceed further. The choice is yours.
Peace,
SR