# What constitutional reforms would you like to see post-Trump? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [July 5, 2026, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444 "2026-07-05T22:07:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/41 "2026-07-06T15:18:08Z")
An entirely new Constitution that replaces this system, designed (in part) to deal with a problem that no longer exists (balancing the needs/wishes of the Free States with those of the Slave States), with a parliamentary system. But that’s not going to happen. So, instead: term limits. No filibusters. Lowering the impeachment and removal threshold. Ditch the Electoral College (POTUS is elected by popular vote, full stop). An amendment that imposes limits on the 2nd. An amendment that clarifies some ambiguous parts of the 1st. Ban gerrymandering. All candidates for ANY public office (POTUS or dog-catcher) must pass a 12th-grade literacy and Constitution test. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/42 "2026-07-06T15:19:57Z")
There should be certain duties that should be temporarily taken away from the President if they are impeached and given to a bipartisan committee until the issue is resolved, either by trial, revocation of impeachment by the same number of votes, or resignation. A semi-house arrest, if you will. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/43 "2026-07-06T15:34:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Pretty much all of these are simply a reaction to one man, who the Op stated is dead. I disagree. The Electoral College is a farce, at times defying the will of the people. Dump it. Strengthen the emoluments language. Trump has shown us that he can thumb his nose at Congress at will when it comes to accepting gifts and making himself and his friends rich by telegraphing his actions to them. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/44 "2026-07-06T15:37:25Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > I don’t think “This is all in response to one man” is a valid objection to implementing any of these reforms. One man has shown the weaknesses of the system and we can’t assume that no one after him will do the same or worse if they can. Let’s shore up the weaknesses so no other man can exploit them. On the other hand, I don’t think you’re ever going to craft some perfect Constitution that will ensure a future corrupt president will behave. Especially when that corrupt president is willing to break the law and is protected by a Congress and Supreme Court who refuse to enforce the law. ---
**Author:** ![Jihi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jihi/32/17768_2.png) [@Jihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jihi)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/45 "2026-07-06T16:08:20Z")
I think a lot of the suggestions in this thread are good ideas and would do some good towards strengthening democratic norms in the US. Dumping the EC and reforming the federal government into something more akin to a parliamentary system are goals I could support whole heartedly. But I think @Little_Nemo’s preceding post is also 100% correct. When you have a politically and ideologically aligned group who are perfectly willing to cover for and support one another in contravention of established law any system is going to face stress tests like what we’re seeing now. It’s why, derogatorily or not, it’s generally referred to as a “culture war”. It’s a conflict being fought in people’s hearts and minds. Not in a courtroom. What we need is a better polity. I don’t know how you get that without generational education and a willingness for self reflection that, quite frankly, Americans haven’t really shown the ability for. At least not recently. I’ve said before, as have others, the biggest weakness of any democracy it’s that it can’t stand if roughly half the population simply wants to vote it away. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/46 "2026-07-06T16:16:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Strengthen the emoluments language. Trump has shown us that he can thumb his nose at Congress at will when it comes to accepting gifts and making himself and his friends rich by telegraphing his actions to them. Taking a page from Texas’s law banning abortion: I wonder if it would be possible to give every person in the U.S. standing to sue the President for any amount of emolument he gained during his time in office, defining an emolument as any increase in his net worth over and above that which he would have earned in mix of basic whole-market stock mutual funds and Treasury bonds during his presidency, and giving the American people a window of five years after his presidency to bring the suit. So the President could take bribes, of course, but cannot keep the money. If the Supreme Court considers this an unacceptable intrusion on presidential perogatives, ram it through as a constitutional amendment and make all Article III judges subject to the same rule. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/47 "2026-07-06T16:24:39Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > On the other hand, I don’t think you’re ever going to craft some perfect Constitution that will ensure a future corrupt president will behave. Especially when that corrupt president is willing to break the law and is protected by a Congress and Supreme Court who refuse to enforce the law. The perfect shouldn’t be the enemy of the good. No Constitution will ever be perfect, agreed, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to improve the one we have. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/48 "2026-07-06T16:34:41Z")
I don’t think the goal has ever been perfection, and dismissing all efforts to make the situation _better_ doesn’t help at all. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/49 "2026-07-06T18:16:28Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > For pardons, I’d have them one of two ways, either of which would keep them safe from Trump. Note that trump would be gone by the OP. > [@Smapti](#): > > This seems like it would be far too easy to weaponize by indicting a candidate for some trumped-up offense, thereby disqualifying them from running. yeah, look at all the people on you know whos enemy list that have been charged. > [@HeyHomie](#): > > An entirely new Constitution that replaces this system, designed (in part) to deal with a problem that no longer exists And according to the Op, the current problem is also gone. > [@HeyHomie](#): > > So, instead: term limits Term limits have not helped- or made things worse- in the states which have them. > [@Chefguy](#): > > The Electoral College is a farce, at times defying the will of the people. Dump it. The small states, no matter how Blue, wont agree. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/50 "2026-07-06T18:19:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Note that trump would be gone by the OP. Note that you have already said this, and that it has already been responded to directly. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/51 "2026-07-06T18:24:46Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The small states, no matter how Blue, wont agree. As we used to say in the military: Life sucks and then you die. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/52 "2026-07-06T18:30:13Z")
> Not to mention the 1st Ad is pretty sacred. Tell that to the poor “Antifa” lady who just got fifty years for printing pamphlets. > The Democrats are not Fascists I’ll settle for them growing a spine. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/53 "2026-07-06T18:33:23Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > Tell that to the poor “Antifa” lady who just got fifty years for printing pamphlets. More than just that- > **[Texas anti-ICE protesters convicted of terrorism charges sentenced to at...](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/23/prairieland-ice-protesters-texas-sentenced)** > > Activists accused of being part of antifa get long prison terms in case seen as test of Trump’s crackdown on dissent > The demonstrators arrived late at night with a plan to set off fireworks as part of a noise demonstration to show solidarity with those detained inside. A few of the protesters spontaneously broke off from the main group and vandalized cars in the parking lot, a guard shack, slashed the tires on a government van and broke a security camera. When a police officer arrived on the scene and drew his weapon, one of the activists fired an AR-15, hitting the officer in the shoulder. The officer survived. Note that we have a thread for just this issue. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/54 "2026-07-06T18:39:58Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > And why do you barge into threads quoting every post like you’re some kind of authority? You are not. **Moderating:** This is off-topic and a minor attack. Please don’t. Take stuff like this to the Pit please. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/55 "2026-07-06T18:54:56Z")
The end of capital punishment. It’s a bad fit for a supposedly civilized country. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/56 "2026-07-06T20:21:00Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > The perfect shouldn’t be the enemy of the good. No Constitution will ever be perfect, agreed, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to improve the one we have. I agree. But I think a general rule for amending the Constitution should be “Would this still be a good idea if Barack Obama or Joe Biden was President instead of Donald Trump?” Voting rights, abolishing the Electoral College, and enacting the Wyoming rule? Those are all good ideas regardless of who’s President. But abolishing pardons, lowering the impeachment bar, setting age or weight limits? Those are as likely to be used against a good President as a bad one. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/57 "2026-07-06T21:55:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Pretty much all of these are simply a reaction to one man, who the Op stated is dead And the reconstruction amendments were simply a reaction to one war, which was over. Some eras are so heinous that you have to make sure it doesn’t happen again. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/58 "2026-07-06T22:04:03Z")
Absolutely do make it that voting is a fundamental right of the eligible citizen. Reaffirm and mandate enforcement of the 14th Amendment provisions re: disenfranchisement = loss of seats and electors. Antigerrymandering proposals: would have to be along the lines that the drawing be taken out of the hands of the legislators, and that districts be required to be contiguous and compact and take into consideration ease of access for voters, population distribution and community bonds. _But_ mind you… ISTM a mandate for strictly mathematically objective districts could mean some provisions of the VRA can’t be reinstituted. This ISTM brings us back to a need to expand the House, so you can have more representativity even if you can no longer “set aside” districts. And we may want to include that districting or voting requirements, even if still state-governed, must submit to VRA-style vetting. Hey, make it apply to ALL states. Maybe that could help. … While at it go over those quaint old passages about “natural born” and “subject to jurisdiction” and rewrite them with specific plain language words describing what is intended to happen or not happen. Past framers rested too much on “hey everybody just knows what we mean”. … Affirm there is NO prospective omnibus immunity to be granted an elected officer and that the sole fact of being POTUS does not make your every act “official”. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Term limits have not helped- or made things worse- in the states which have them. Often in those states you wound up with too-short limits brute-forced onto part-time citizen legislatures. Not the same game as played in Congress, sure. But even there, someone serving 20 to 24 years is not _intrinsecally_ wrong if they are truly popular with the voters, the real problem are the many cases where there is no real competitive challenge in either primary or general (from cost, gerrymandering, etc.) so that they stick around forever and have no need to be responsive and no fear of accountability. > [@DrDeth](#): > > The small states, no matter how Blue, wont agree True. It requires a change in paradigm and as much as I favor popular vote I fully understand where they’re.coming from. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/59 "2026-07-06T22:06:13Z")
Delete the Emoluments Clause and replace it with specific qualifications for the president and VP’s finances: mandatory tax return releases; forbidden from any financial dealings that could be remotely construed as benefiting from their office, etc. Delete the “high crimes and misdemeanors” wording and replace with specific criteria for impeachment. Include wording that pertains to how it relates to criminal charges (ie, it doesn’t preclude those charges) and that it’s an option up until the last day in office. Annul the SCOTUS “presidential immunity” ruling by statements that the president is subject to criminal prosecution during and after his term. Also, that anyone convicted of a felony is ineligible for high office. Not Trumpian per se, but while we’re at it: mandate that all congressional maps are drawn by non-partisan commissions, and only once / 10 years. Annul Citizens United: any contribution directly to a political candidate is equivalent to bribery. All candidates for federal office will receive public funding. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444/60 "2026-07-06T22:11:41Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Note that trump would be gone by the OP. In that case, Trump or a Trump-like figure who abuses them as if they are teenagers on Epstein Island. Speaking of which, I guess there also needs to be a Constitutional amendment to take government protection away from child molesters, as they are doing quite well right now under the current rules. I would still call Trump out by name for some amendments just in case someone figures out how to clone him or something. Donald Trump and any/all of his clones/AI bots/alien replimoids/anything else that comes close is forever forbidden from… etc. You can never be too careful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutional-reforms-would-you-like-to-see-post-trump/1031444.md?page=4)