Indiana Law Journal Volume 93 Issue 1 The Future of the U.S. Constitution: A Article 11 Symposium Winter 2018 Political Norms, Constitutional Conventions, and President Donald Trump Neil S. Siegel Duke Law School,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ilj Part of the Constitutional Law Commons, Law and Politics Commons, and the President/Executive Department Commons Recommended Citation Siegel, Neil S. (2018) "Political Norms, Constitutional Conventions, and President Donald Trump," Indiana Law Journal: Vol. 93 : Iss. 1 , Article 11. Available at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ilj/vol93/iss1/11 This Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School Journals at Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Indiana Law Journal by an authorized editor of Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Political Norms, Constitutional Conventions, and President Donald Trump NEIL S. SIEGEL* My big worry is not simply that formal institutions have been eroded, but that the informal norms that underpin them are even more important and even more fragile. Norms of transparency, conflict of interest, civil discourse, respect for the opposition and freedom of the press, and equal treatment of citizens are all consistently undermined, and without these the formal institutions become brittle.1 In the wake of the 2016 elections, I was driving near my home in Durham, North Carolina, with my eldest daughter, Sydney. She was only twelve years of age at the time, but she is an old soul.