And if Elected: What President Trump Could or Couldn’t Do
Mr. Trump’s critics wonder whether a man with such a violent temper can be trusted with the presidency. But his defenders, like Senator John McCain and the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, assure usthat the Constitution will constrain him.
“I still believe we have the institutions of government that would restrain someone who seeks to exceed their constitutional obligations,”Mr. McCain told The New York Times. “We have a Congress. We have the Supreme Court. We’re not Romania.”
.. The World Trade Organization ruled the steel tariffs illegal in that case. But Mr. Trump could simply ignore its judgment, and indeed withdraw the United States from the W.T.O., just as President Bush withdrew the United States from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty in 2002. While he’s at it, Mr. Trump could tear up the North Atlantic Treaty, which created NATO, an organization that he has called “obsolete.”
.. In May, Mr. Trump vowed to rescind President Obama’s environmental policies. He would be able to do that as well. He could disavow the Paris climate change agreement, just as President Bush “unsigned” a treaty creating an international criminal court in 2002. He could choke off climate regulations that are in development and probably withdraw existing climate regulations. Even if a court blocked him, he could refuse to enforce the regulations, just as Mr. Obama refused to enforce immigration laws.
.. Mr. Trump has expressed impatience with his critics and hinted that he would use federal powers against them. He wouldn’t be able to put someone in jail merely for criticizing him. But he could direct agencies to use their vast regulatory powers against the companies of executives who have displeased him, like Jeff Bezos, for example, the founder of Amazon. Mr. Trump has already hinted that he would go after Amazon for supposed antitrust violations.
.. Much depends on how far Mr. Trump is willing to push existing legal understandings. There is a netherworld of laws that presidents are supposed to comply with but courts don’t enforce. He could send military forces into a foreign country without authorization from Congress; courts would most likely stay out of the dispute.
.. To make things happen, Mr. Trump will need to get loyalists into leadership positions of the agencies, but to do so, he will need the cooperation of the Senate (or he will need to aggressively exploit his recess appointment powers).
.. Like President George H.W. Bush, who rescued Iran-contra defendants from punishment in 1992, he could hand out get-out-of-jail-free cards in the form of the pardon.