Donald Trump Constitutional Amendment Needed

By KEN SIBANDA
Given the recent events of President Trump's  Immigration executive order - closing boarders to certain citizens of specified Muslim countries, a constitutional amendment that makes it a must to have held either a State or National Office should be seriously considered in view that it is possible to occupy the Office of President while lacking the temperament to govern. Temperament, here interpersonal issues, was an argument raised against Senator Ted Cruz in the Republican Primary specifically that he did not get along with anyone in the U.S. Senate, a remarkable accusation.
A president should be above personal attacks - temperament - he or she should win the hearts of us the citizens in his political vision. As Leader in chief he sets an example for the rest of the country in tolerance and attitude; language and vulgarity; racism and reconciliation. And because President Trump lost the popular vote there is a serious chance that we have a divided country ready to become unhinged if pleasantries are done away with.
At present, we have 27 Amendments that reflect the range of American history; from the colonial days - Bill of Rights; slavery - 13th Amendment; women suffrage - 19th amendment; and the Civil Rights Amendment - 15th Amendment. We are now at the cusp of a 28th Amendment made necessary by the election of President Trump and questions about his temperament for the Oval Office. Temperament refers to that quality in men and women that leads to grace or a quality that one would normally expect from a person with that title. One does not expect a sitting president to call you names on tweeter at two in the morning for example.
There should be a 28th Amendment because winning an election should not be the only factor in getting into the White House. The U.S. president must be a tried and tested State or National official. How is the public to know what kind of administrator a President who has never held office will be? Writing divisive executive orders leads to social tension and a straining ou our diplomatic offices. This is post World War II and we are inviting trouble if we enter the international system without our allies be they European or African. We seriously need the U.S. to lead for its own interests, but not at the expense of our allies. More so, if the U.S. is to lead in Iraeli-Palestinian Relations, we need the support of our allies.
Not withstanding that American ethos allow any person born in America to run for the Oval office, it is time, like the other Amendments - a presidential Amendment be enacted to treflect the current America. The U.S. Constitution was not written in stone but by consensus as a living political contract. It is possibly and as President Trump demonstrated, anyone can win the U.S. election; but is this in the best interests of the country that this crucial leadership position be treated like a political lottery. Like many I question our intellectual rigor in how we chose our Presidents here in the States. In all aspects of American life, from plumbing to choosing a doctor we chose people who have actually done the job - but when it comes to choosing a presidnet we chose merely people who tell us what we want to hear. This is called demagoguery, of the type Athenian democracy criticized as being at the root of Nation-State decay. Many countries have fallen because they elected the wrong King or President.
The last two presidents ( Obama and Trump) have raised all soughts of questions about presidential candidate scrutiny, which I highlighted in "Rights of Presidents." In sum, my argument there was that each presidential candidate pushes executive limits of power through the manner and tone of their election. We are now witnessing a President for the first time, who sees the executive branch of government superior to the other two branches - the Legislature and the Judiciary. Before Present Trump, it was unheard of for a sitting Presidnet to criticize judges, the media and legislators, now it is almost routine to hear that President Trump attacked a judge or reporter. We have stooped lower than what the Sage of Monticello ( Jefferson ) ever imaged, to a level of intra-governmental discord or warfare by tweeter.
Our system here in the States is one of equality. No one is above the law; this was memorialized in the decision U.S. v. Nixon, in which President Nixon was stated as not being immune to criminal prosecution, thus President Ford had to eventually pardon him. Every presidential executive order should be tested by the other two branches of government, with the Supreme Court being in a position to declare it unconstitutional if it sees fit. This is the beauty of the American political system. We cannot afford a president whose manner of governing deminshes the other two branches reducing them to sitting ducks. To that end all elected senators should seriously suggest an Amendment making it necessary that anyone running for President in the future should have held either one term of a State or National office.
Ken Sibanda, is an American Constitutional lawyer and author of, "Rights of Presidents."