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Opinion | We need to talk about Trump’s war on the US Constitution
The US system of checks and balances hinges on an unspoken premise: that those who operate it at least respect the rule of law
When Benjamin Franklin emerged from the Constitutional Convention in 1787, a woman asked him what kind of government the delegates had crafted. “A republic, if you can keep it,” he replied. Those words, oft repeated, carry a note of caution that reverberates across the ages. A republic demands the vigilance of its citizens to shield it from the predations of power.
The founding fathers were aware that a corrupt president could do irreversible harm to the republic. James Madison, in No 51 of the Federalist papers, declared, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”
The Constitution established a federal government with three coequal branches – legislative to craft laws, executive to enforce them, judicial to interpret them – designed to check and balance one another, ensuring no single arm could clutch too much power.
This elegant machinery, however, hinges on an unspoken premise: that those who operate it possess a modicum of honour, a respect for the rule of law.