30 Chapter 2Chapter 2Chapter 2 ||| The Constitution and the FoundingThe Constitution and the FoundingThe Constitution and the Founding2. The Constitution and the Founding
What are the rules of the
political game?
Almost immediately after Donald Trump was elected in 2016, dozens of articles and
think pieces anxiously questioned whether American democracy would survive a Trump
presidency. One called Trump “the greatest threat to American democracy in our lifetime.”
Another asked, “Are we witnessing the end of democracy?”^1 These critics pointed out that
as a candidate Trump questioned judicial independence, called the media the “enemy
of the people,” advocated violating Muslims’ equal protection under the law, seemed to
be unconcerned about foreign interference in our elections, promised the use of torture
against suspected terrorists and their families, and showed little understanding of the
Constitution (he vowed to protect “Article XII,” which doesn’t exist). Indeed, during his first
year in office the pundits on the left contended that our democracy was in grave danger.
Perhaps no area generated more angst than war powers, specifically the prospects
for nuclear war with North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong-un. Late in the summer of
2017, mainstream media outlets such as Newsweek wondered, “Will Trump and Kim’s
Game of Nuclear Chicken Blow Up the World?”^2 Those concerns intensified after a
speech in September to the United Nations in which Trump dismissed Kim as “Rocket
Man” and said that if the United States is forced to defend itself or its allies, “we will
have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.”^3 While Trump’s supporters hailed it
as “his finest speech as president,”^4 others were convinced that the United States was
on the brink of war. Early in 2018 when Trump agreed to direct talks with Kim, some“For Mr. Trump this could be about one of the boldest and most historic
moves a U.S. leader has made in foreign relations.”
Laura Bicker, BBC News“This madman is still the single most powerful person on the planet,
with the ability to order the destruction of the world in just over
four minutes.”
Robert Reich, scholar and former secretary of laborIn 2018, President Trump and North
Korean leader Kim Jong-un met in
Singapore. Though Trump’s strong
language and threat of war was
praised by his supporters, others
feared it was evidence of presidential
overreach.30Full_03_APT_64431_ch02_030-069.indd 30 16/11/18 1:29 PM