JUDGING POWER — NOT PERSONALITIES

Published on LinkedIn: January 30, 2026

Debates over presidential power are often driven by personality rather than law.

That instinct is understandable — but constitutionally, it is a mistake.

Too often, judgments about the proper use or abuse of presidential power turn on personal loyalties, partisan alignment, or feelings about the individual occupying the White House at a given moment. The Constitution does not permit that kind of analysis.

Lawfulness is not a referendum on personality. Agreement or disagreement with a president’s policies, character, or rhetoric has no bearing on what the Constitution allows or forbids. A president we admire can exceed constitutional limits. A president we oppose can act entirely within them.

The Framers understood this risk, which is why they built a critical distinction into the constitutional structure: the difference between the presidency as an office and the individual who temporarily holds it. That distinction matters most when political passions are strongest.

Confusing personal views with constitutional judgment weakens the rule of law. It turns structural limits into partisan tools and erodes the balance of power that protects liberty over time.

What is ultimately at stake is not the short-term fate of any political figure or party. It is the long-term integrity of constitutional government itself.