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How to Keep the Republic (Before It’s Too Late): Why a New Constitution Is Necessary to Strengthen Liberal Democracy in the United States

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Presidential Leadership and the Trump Presidency

Part of the book series: The Evolving American Presidency ((EAP))

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Abstract

Recent scholarly discussion of the authoritarian threat Donald Trump’s presidency poses to constitutional democracy in the United States either underestimates the danger or fails to consider whether the existing constitutional system has failed and fundamental change is needed to strengthen democracy. In this chapter, Edelson proposes a test to determine whether constitutional failure has occurred and evaluates possible authoritarian action Trump has taken in several areas. Edelson concludes that Trump’s presidency reveals the failure of the current constitutional system, and Edelson proposes a new constitution to strengthen liberal democracy in the United States.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    There may, of course, be a tension here: majorities do not always support individual rights, especially for members of minority groups (Mounk 2018, 13). A constitutional democracy sets limits on the majority will in order to protect minority rights.

  2. 2.

    The qualities that define an authoritarian leader are different from those that define authoritarian citizens (Hetherington and Weiler 2009, 33–41).

  3. 3.

    As discussed below, Jack Balkin does ask this question, but in my view does not reach the right conclusion.

  4. 4.

    Goldsmith does worry that, if Trump has a second term in office, “his norm-breaking will be seen to serve the presidency more than it does today. If that happens, the office will be forever changed, and not for the better.” He is also concerned that Trump could exploit or create some future crisis that would allow him to break free of constitutional limits on power (Goldsmith 2017).

  5. 5.

    I mean “small-bore” in the sense that none of these scholars recommend overhaul or replacement of the existing Constitution. Some of the proposals they offer are ambitious in other ways—for instance, Levitsky and Ziblatt suggest dramatically reforming or even “refound[ing] the Republican party” (2018, 223). Mounk calls for a renewal of civic faith, action to more equitably distribute wealth, and an “inclusive patriotism” that rejects ethnonationalism (2018, 195–252).

  6. 6.

    Other areas could be addressed as well, including war power and the use of propaganda. In the interest of time and space, I have limited discussion here to the four categories mentioned above.

  7. 7.

    The current U.S. Constitution also provides protections for non-citizens, for instance, in the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

  8. 8.

    Whether the president can have conflicts of interest as a legal matter is being tested by litigation raising challenges under the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause (Scott 2018b).

  9. 9.

    Some of Trump’s supporters and political allies have already moved from words to violent action; Trump has often praised, defended, or encouraged them in doing so (Estepa 2017; Moyer 2015; Tiefenthaler 2016).

  10. 10.

    Two-thirds of state legislatures must ask for a constitutional convention, which would then be called by Congress (U.S. Constitution, art. V).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Government, School of Public Affairs, American University, Washington, DC, USA

    Chris Edelson

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  1. Chris Edelson
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Correspondence to Chris Edelson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, University at Buffalo State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Charles M. Lamb

  2. Department of Political Science, University at Buffalo State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Jacob R. Neiheisel

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Edelson, C. (2020). How to Keep the Republic (Before It’s Too Late): Why a New Constitution Is Necessary to Strengthen Liberal Democracy in the United States. In: Lamb, C., Neiheisel, J. (eds) Presidential Leadership and the Trump Presidency. The Evolving American Presidency. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18979-2_5

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