Is the United States entering a post-constitutional order?

In feudal times, it was expected that vassals would kiss the ring of the lord of the manor to show loyalty and subservience to his power, to make it clear that they understood they belonged to him.

- Solomon D. Stevens, Tribune News Service

I had thought those times were long gone, but apparently, they are with us again. Across America, politicians, businesspeople and media tycoons are lining up to do a modern version of the same thing, but now it is with a president. This is not good for what is supposed to be a democratic republic. Republicans led the way by showing up at various Trump trials to support their leader. They knew he was guilty of the crimes of which he was accused, but they showed up anyway. They said all of the right things — “the courts are biased against him” or “the deep state is ater him.” However, the point of showing up was to curry favor with someone they expected to have power over them in the future.