The United States of America is at a precarious moment. Our Constitutional republic is hanging by a thread when the President himself seems uncertain about his obligation to uphold the Constitution — while those who do are being honored for their courage, as though fidelity to our founding principles were exceptional rather than fundamental. The U.S. Constitution is what holds us together as a nation. Without allegiance to it, I fear we risk losing our very identity.
Meanwhile, the legislative branch envisioned by our founders as having the most power has completely abdicated its duty of good governance, surrendering instead to partisanship.
President Trump appeared on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning, May 4. When Host Kristen Welker asked whether due process should apply to both citizens and noncitizens, citing the Fifth Amendment, Trump replied “I don't know. I'm not, I’m not a lawyer.”
“Welker followed up: ‘Don't you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?’” Trump’s response was troubling. “I don't know. It seems — it might say that, but if you're talking about that, then we'd have to have a million or 2 million or 3 million trials,” the President responded. “We have thousands of people that are—some murderers and some drug dealers and some of the worst people on Earth...I was elected to get them the hell out of here and the courts are holding me from doing it.”
In a time when leadership should reaffirm our commitment to the Constitution, uncertainty in its defense is not only troubling—it threatens the very fabric of our republic.
But even more concerning was this exchange. Welker asked whether he needed to “uphold the Constitution of the United States as president” and Trump said: “I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said.”
The President must recognize that he is responsible for the execution and enforcement of laws created by Congress, not to defer to the current U.S. Supreme Court, but to uphold the Constitution itself. Yet, he seems poised to ignore this sacred responsibility without consequence.
Just 104 days ago, Trump took his oath for the second time: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
In the sitcom “Friends”, Chandler tells Rachel and Ross that his girlfriend Janice is mad at him. Chandler tells his friends “Janice asked me, do I look fat today, and I looked at her.” In which Ross jumps in and responds “You looked at her? You never look. You just answer. It’s like a reflex.” Rachel and Ross explain to Chandler that there can be no pause, you just need to reflexively be able to answer.
Not to diminish the precarious situation the country is in by quoting a television comedy series, but the same instinctive certainty should be expected from all elected officials, and especially our chief executive, when asked whether he will uphold the Constitution of the United States. There should be no hesitation and a proud exclamation of “Yes!”
The events of Jan. 6, 2021, made one thing unmistakably clear. Donald Trump holds no love or commitment to our Constitutional order. He should never have been entrusted with holding the highest office again.
The founding fathers understood the potential for corruption and established the process for impeachment and Congress’ responsibility with it in Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution. Unfortunately, out of control partisanship has prevented Congress from upholding its authority. With no meaningful effort to restore accountability, presidential power continues to go unchecked.
On the very same day that Trump refused to commit to upholding the Constitution, Vice President Mike Pence received the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation 2025 Profile in Courage Award “for putting his life and career on the line to ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power on January 6, 2021.”
Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and Jack Schlossberg highlighted the significance of Pence’s actions stating, “Despite our political differences, it is hard to imagine an act of greater consequence than Vice President Pence’s decision to certify the 2020 presidential election during an attack on the U.S. Capitol. Upholding his oath to the Constitution and following his conscience, the Vice President put his life, career, and political future on the line. His decision is an example of President Kennedy’s belief that an act of political courage can change the course of history.”
This is the dire situation we are in as a country: The President of the United States openly questions whether he must abide by the Constitution, while we feel compelled to give out awards to brave men and women who do.
Only when members of Congress prioritize putting the country over party, as Pence did, will we have any hope of rebuilding this great experiment. Sadly, I am not holding my breath.
Lynn Schmidt is a columnist and Editorial Board member with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She holds a master's of science in political science as well as a bachelor's of science in nursing.
Americans across the political spectrum have continued to ask about the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s connections among the political elite. (Angela Weiss/AFP)
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks to voters at a town hall at the Elks Lodge 188 on June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine.
McConnell and Platner both feel entitled
The two men could not be more different. One, a Republican, octogenarian, seven-term Southern senator, the other a progressive, millennial Maine oysterman who’s never spent a day in elected office.
But Mitch McConnell, the senior senator from Kentucky who’s been MIA for the past few weeks and Graham Platner, the Maine Senate candidate who’s facing calls to drop out of his race against Sen. Susan Collins, apparently do have something in common: an outsized sense of entitlement.
McConnell, who is 84 and not running for reelection, has been hospitalized for three weeks, and yet we still don’t fully know what he was admitted for or what his condition is. Per CNN, “his office has not disclosed a medical reason for the hospitalization or provided specifics on his health status beyond saying last week that he ‘continues to improve’ and ‘is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters.’ ”
While several legislators have said they’ve talked to him and insist he sounds strong, others have said they are completely in the dark. One MAGA influencer, Laura Loomer, posted ”High level source close to the White House tells me ‘Mitch McConnell is officially brain dead. He’s not coming back.’ ”
Meanwhile, up in Maine, Platner has been artfully dodging calls from his own party to drop out of his race after several allegations of misconduct from women, including a sexual assault allegation from a former girlfriend, came to light. While Platner, who has managed to survive a Nazi-tattoo scandal, a sexting scandal, and several old tweets scandals, denies the allegations, he has not quit.
High-profile Democrats including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer, the latter of whom had unsuccessfully hand-selected Maine Gov. Janet Mills to face Collins instead of Platner, have urged Platner to drop out, while other Dems have accused him of trying to influence the picking of his replacement.
Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson released a statement Tuesday, which said in part:
“Unfortunately, Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like. We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate nor in determining what this process looks like.”
Both incidents show a deep lack of accountability to voters, who in one case deserve to know whether their senator is capable of performing his duties, and in another deserve a candidate who isn’t being accused of crimes, bigotry and deception.
The offensive and odious entitlement of both McConnell and Platner stands out not because it is particularly unique among today’s political class. Tom Kean, the New Jersey GOP congressman, missed more than 100 votes, only sharing after a three-month mystery absence that he was dealing with depression.
Former President Joe Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin failed to disclose a hospitalization for prostate cancer surgery, flouting the established rules for Cabinet members and senior U.S. officials.
From Biden’s insistence on running for reelection despite his obvious cognitive and political weaknesses to Trump’s brazen flouting of laws and norms, few politicians seem to appreciate that their public service job comes with responsibilities to constituents, including transparency and honesty.
But both parties increasingly justify the chicanery, because the stakes of winning elections and keeping power are simply too high. But that’s no excuse. If we’ve learned anything over the past decade, it’s that character and accountability do, in fact, matter. And when we, the voters, stop caring about it, well, so do they.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.