Trump's Right, the Constitution Is 'Archaic'

Is the Constitution archaic, as President Donald Trump implied recently in an interview with Fox News? The answer is a resounding yes -- if you’re an originalist, as Trump claims to be. The president unwittingly hit on the best possible justification for a living Constitution, which evolves to meet changing times. That evolution, of course, needs to take account of the fundamental elements necessary for life -- such as the separation of powers. And it would be a disastrous idea to amend the First Amendment, as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus hinted in another recent interview. But broadly speaking, the way to avoid archaism is to recognize that the Constitution is alive, and like every living thing, must adapt to changing circumstances.

Let’s start with precision, something not always present in Trump’s remarks or liberal criticism of them. Trump didn’t literally say the Constitution was archaic. Instead, he referred to “politics” generally: