DAHLIA LITHWICK ILLUSTRATION BY STEVE JONES
When he first ran for the presidency in 2016, Donald Trump promised voters all sorts of things that worried even rock-ribbed conservatives who might otherwise have supported his candidacy. He pledged, for instance, to “open up the libel laws” so that newspapers would be legally liable for criticising him (unconstitutional). He called for a national stop-and-frisk policy (unconstitutional) and argued that US citizens accused of terrorism should be tried in military tribunals (also unconstitutional). He advocated for torture of terror suspects and the targeting of their families (unconstitutional). He said he would push to revoke birthright citizenship from the children of undocumented immigrants (unconstitutional) and ban all Muslims from entering the country (unconstitutional) and create registries for Muslim citizens (unconstitutional). He also pledged to use his Justice Department to investigate Hillary Clinton and “lock her up” as well as his other political enemies (you get the picture).