By Joe Gandelman in San Diego
In the good old days of vaudeville, they used a long shepherd’s hook to get bad acts that couldn’t take a hint off the stage.
On July 19th, after Spain defeated Argentina during the 2026 World Cup final, FIFA President Gianni Infantino could have used a hook.
Donald Trump lingered on stage trying to be in the photo taken of the triumphant team. It took several tries for Infantino to usher Trump off the podium so the team could celebrate.
It’s a vivid metaphor: Sometimes the hardest part isn’t getting someone on stage. It’s getting them to leave it.
Trump has repeatedly suggested he deserves more time in office, joked or mused about serving beyond the constitutional limit, and has made comments sparking speculation he’s seeking to remain in power. His allies have pursued aggressive redistricting, backed stricter voting rules in some states, challenged election procedures, and continued to cast doubt on election integrity. Those actions raise concerns among critics Trump and his allies are trying to tilt the political playing field.
But despite the heated rhetoric, the American system contains constitutional barriers to any president cancelling an election or simply refusing to leave office.
Federal elections are administered primarily by the states, not the White house, under laws enacted by Congress and subject to reviews by independent courts. Thousands of state and local election officials — not the president — oversee voting and vote counting. The decentralized structure, combined with constitutional term limits and multiple checks, makes it extremely difficult for any president to unilaterally suspend an election or remain in office beyond the limits established by law.
The founding fathers weren’t writing a constitution for saints. They assumed ambitious, power-seeking leaders would eventually arise. That is why they built checks and balances, separation of powers, federalism, regular elections, congressional oversight, judicial review, and ultimately the peaceful transfer of power.
In Federalist No. 51, James Madison argued government must be designed because “if men were angels, no government would be necessary.” The Constitution was built on skepticism about concentrated power.
Long before Madison, another tradition wrestled with exactly the same problem.
The Torah (Hebrew Bible):
– Deuteronomy 17:14–20 — Probably the strongest passage. It limits the king’s power. He must not accumulate excessive horses (military power), wives (political alliances), or wealth. He is commanded to write his own copy of the law and read it daily “so that his heart may not be lifted above his brothers.” The king is explicitly portrayed as subject to the law, not above it.
– 1 Samuel 8:10–18 — Israel demands a king. Samuel warns that kings will take sons for war, daughters for service, seize the best land, tax the people, and concentrate power in themselves. It’s one of history’s earliest warnings about executive overreach.
– Proverbs 16:18 — “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
– Micah 3:1–3, 9–11 — A blistering condemnation of corrupt leaders who abuse power for personal gain.
In the 880s, Rabbi Saadya Ga’on wrote:
“It is appropriate that I establish the matter that many overlook regarding the perils of haughtiness and power. Among them is that when people elevate themselves and become arrogant, they go beyond their proper place and trample over the near and the far. They see themselves as unique in their generation, disparage everyone else’s opinion, and mock and reject their words…They will even contradict experts in their own field…
“They will go so far as to question the Creator’s wisdom and knowledge, opposing much of it, considering it incorrect in their eyes…Their hearts will lead them to enter into all types of dangerous pursuits, out of confidence that their genius will save them. And this will be their undoing.”
The founders warned us. Ancient Jewish wisdom warned us. Neither claimed a republic would always choose wisely. They simply understood that unchecked pride is one of democracy’s oldest enemies.
Whether Americans believe those warnings apply today is a decision each voter must make.
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Joe Gandelman is editor of The Moderate Voice website and a contributor to Cagle Cartoons Syndicate, where this article was initially published. It is republished here with permission.