Loyalty to Trump or the Constitution: An inevitable clash?

Throughout American history, no president has demanded personal loyalty more overtly than Donald Trump. Loyalty over expertise is a hallmark of his nontraditional governing style, and its effectiveness will be tested more than ever in his second term.

Trump's MAGA forces are warming up during his “blitzkrieg” presidential transition. Strategically, they are weaponizing loyalty to soften the attitudes of Republican senators on the 2026 ballot who, with a majority of Americans, consider Trump’s most controversial cabinet nominees as unqualified by traditional standards of experience and expertise.

Beyond the usual threats to primary less loyal officeholders, influential MAGA lawyer Mike Davis even threatened during an interview to unleash private detectives on vulnerable senators.

Trump loyalists are masters at applying non-traditional media assets and mobilizing activists down to the precinct level. A shell-shocked Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) experienced a barrage of coordinated attacks after questioning Pete Hegseth’s nomination for Secretary of Defense. Having seen how loyalty can be weaponized against them, reluctant GOP senators are now more open to giving Trump the cabinet he wants. 

Loyalty enforced by fear is the MAGA way. It sets a dangerous precedent that could consolidate power in the executive branch, unbalancing the equally powerful constitutionally mandated legislative and judicial branches.

To maintain this three-pronged delicate balance of power, the Founders devised a system of checks and balances. The Senate is tasked, in part, with “advice and consent” to confirm or reject the president’s nominees.

The high hurdle of Senate confirmation has tempered presidents' worst instincts of appointing cronies and payback nominees. Once achieved, confirmation is a career milestone with “The Honorable” as a lifetime title.

All confirmed, appointed, and elected officials take a loyalty oath swearing to “support and defend the Constitution.” There is no oath to “support and defend” or be loyal to the president — a purposeful omission, reflecting the Founders’ fear of the president becoming a king.

President-elect Trump will take office with the dubious distinction of having been twice impeached by the House but not convicted by the Senate. Last December, he famously said that if reelected, he would not be a dictator “except for day one.” That day is one month away. 

Reports from Mar-a-Lago say Trump feels “unassailable," and that starting on Inauguration Day, he could be the most powerful president in generations.  

To remain “unassailable,” Trump has a “Loyalty Enforcement Trio” comprising his eldest son, Don Jr.; Vice President-elect JD Vance; and billionaire Elon Musk. The Trio is his first line of defense and offense against anyone deemed insufficiently loyal. This Loyalty Enforcement Trio often collaborates with major MAGA influencers such as Steve Bannon, Charlie Kirk, and Tucker Carlson to chastise wobbly Republicans.

During Trump’s reign, expect the Trio to grow in power and stature, emboldened to obliterate any roadblock to the president’s agenda. Since power and money create more money and power, the Trio could rally support from administration officials to bust through legal limits and shatter traditional norms of executive power — always justified by loyalty to Trump and his electoral “mandate” to make America great again. 

All members of the House and Senate from both parties, be warned that you might bow to Trump, as did the nation's most powerful CEOs. They quickly recognized that sitting at Trump’s table is wiser than being carved up and served on his plate.

The tentacles of Trump Junior, Vance, and Musk are virtually ubiquitous. They represent the promise of the present that Trump calls the “Golden Age” — and a future where nothing is impossible with the full power of the U.S. government aligned with the world’s richest man who grows richer by associating with Trump.

The Loyalty Enforcement Trio lords over diverse spheres of influence.

Don Jr. is the family’s political protector and leads the “Trump 47” brand. (He replaced sister Ivanka and brother-in-law Jared Kushner, who are consigned to the rearview mirror of Trump 45.) Don Jr. has long been a stand-in for his dad on the campaign trail and fundraising circuit. With his ear to the ground, Junior senses any disloyalty among the ranks and sends the rabid dogs. 

The first son is especially attuned to the MAGA-bro base and is credited with convincing Dad to nominate the young, untested Vance as his running mate.

And Vance is the MAGA empire’s heir apparent, positioned as the 2028 front-runner to keep Trumpism thriving into the next decade. During the transition, he has been Trump’s loyalty enforcer on Capitol Hill, tasked with turning unpopular nominees into successful Cabinet conferees.

After that mission is accomplished, Vance will flash Trump loyalty cards to ensure the passage of legislation requiring bent or broken knees. If the Trump-Vance team is successful, Trump's 2028 trajectory will be unstoppable, and Junior will be a “political visionary.”

Elon Musk’s power is growing. Expect blowback. He is now rivaling the President-elect well beyond his status as a mercurial wild card and DOGE leader. He uses his “X” platform to enforce loyalty, promote pro-Trump messages, and intervene with government funding bills. Musk spent “at least” $277 million to elect Trump and GOP candidates and is looking for a return on investment.

This week, he was named the news media’s most influential person. Elon’s futuristic businesses open doors at home and around the globe. He can spread the gospel of Trump anywhere and, as needed, buy loyalty funding primary campaigns against mushy GOP officeholders.

Does the Loyalty Enforcement Trio care if Trump expands presidential power and potentially tramples the Constitution to accomplish his aggressive agenda? Probably not.

However, Trump’s 77 million voters could raise that question, and the answer will depend on perceived results.

Americans want change, and expectations are high that Trump’s more effective government will solve the immigration crisis, bring prices down, cut waste and taxes, and make peace through his America First agenda. But again, how far will Trump bend or break the Constitution to achieve those goals?

Will the people ultimately choose loyalty to Trump over the Constitution? Let’s hope those circumstances for such a choice do not arise. But if so, expect a nationally defining moment with chaotic foundational consequences.

Myra Adams is an opinion writer who served on the creative team of two Republican presidential campaigns in 2004 and 2008.