I believe it was Justice Jackson who said that the Constitution was not a suicide pact. He was right, of course. Circumstances that the Founding Fathers could not have foreseen call for extraordinary measures. The most important consideration at such times is not paper laws or even institutions as much as trust that our leaders are completely and selflessly committed to the best interests of the nation as a whole.
That’s a problem today. Do you trust William Barr to refrain from using any new extraordinary powers to lock up Trump’s political opponents and prominent left-wing culture warriors? Do you trust Steve Mnuchin to use bailout funds for the truly needy, and not Trump and businesses that suck up to him? And, above all, do you trust Trump to put the interests of the entire country ahead of his own financial and political well-being?
Of course you don’t. You would be mad if you did.