If you listen to politicians talking, you hear the phrase, “the American people” quite often.
Talking heads from both major political parties declare that “the American people” deserve one thing or another, or that “the American people” demand a certain action. If you need proof, go to YouTube and search for the phrase “the American people.” Dozens of politician clips will display.

In a speech he gave in December of 2020, president-elect Joe Biden referred to “the will of the people” which is a common variation of “the American people.” Biden’s use of the phrase drew criticism from his political enemies at The American Conservative.

President-elect Joe Biden proclaimed again that “the will of the people prevailed” in the 2020 election. Biden invoked that phrase four times in one speech, and he’ll likely recite it often in the coming months to sanctify his new policies and proclamations.

The conservative online journal wasn’t disputing that Biden won the election. But it was criticizing Biden’s use of that lofty phrase “the will of the people” in connection with his political victory. Biden won the election, but “the will of the people” is a different thing than an election and it remains to be seen if “the will of the people” gets done or not.

More than that, The American Conservative was disputing whether such a thing as a unified, clear expression of the national will even exists. Biden won 81 million votes — the most ever cast for a presidential candidate. But Biden’s 81 million amounts to only 25% of the American population of 330 million people. No one would say that a fourth of something is the same as all of it. Biden should not say that his election win is “the will of the people.”

You might ask, isn’t the president supposed to do what “the American people” want him to? Shouldn’t “the will of the people” be the guiding star for any public official?

The answer is, “Yes.” Or rather, it is “Yes, but only in a roundabout way.”

The president is suppose to do what the Constitution allows and what the law requires. The president is not supposed to decide what citizens want. He certainly isn’t supposed to substitute his own wishes in place of that public will. Here’s the presidential oath, which every president swears in inauguration day.

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

The word “represent” isn’t in there. By the design of the founders, the president isn’t supposed to represent the people nor determine what the people want. The president — the head of the Executive Branch — is supposed to execute laws that are passed by Congress.

So, is it wrong for the president to say what “the people” want but right for members of Congress to? No, it is wrong for the president, and even worse for members of Congress. The president is elected by votes from all over the country. But determining the will of the people is not the president’s job. Members of Congress aren’t even elected by the whole country. Each member of Congress is elected by a small part of the nation. They should speak on behalf of their own district. But none should presume to speak for the country.

In the 116th Congress of the United States, the upper house of Congress is ruled by Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. The lower house is ruled by Nancy Pelosi of California. Neither of them has constitutional justification to declare what “the American people” want or deserve or demand or will or wont accept from Washington.

Pelosi was elected by an unusually liberal constituency in San Francisco, California . McConnell was elected by the state of Kentucky. Both of those places are fine, but neither is the same as the whole country. Neither McConnell nor Pelosi has much of an idea how people outside their district live or what they want. So when either of them — or any other elected official — says “the American people” want something, they are saying that the people they are connected with want it and what the rest of of the country want doesn’t matter.

Back to The American Conservative:

Americans are encouraged to believe that their vote on Election Day somehow guarantees that the subsequent ten thousand actions by the president, Congress, and federal agencies will embody their wishes, spoken or otherwise, known or unknown. In reality, the more edicts a president issues, the less likely his decrees have any connection to popular preferences.

It’s true. The American people do not have a voice in government. Whenever a politician uses the phrase “the will of the people’ or “the American people” they are asserting a power they don’t have under the Constitution to speak on behalf of the whole population. They are asserting something false — that the whole population approves the thing they aim to do.

Think:

• Can you name an idea that you are confident 100% of “the American people” would agree with?

• How does asserting a consensus that doesn’t exist affect democracy or good government?