One hallmark of Donald Trump’s public service has been a penchant for stress-testing the limits of the law and the Constitution. Much of what Trump did during his first term prompted the ubiquitous question, “Can he do that?”

But that has always been the wrong question. The correct question is, “If he does that, are there any consequences?”

If the answer to the second question is “no,” then the answer to the first question is “yes” — regardless of what the Constitution and the law actually say. We saw this happen on many fronts during Trump’s first term. After four more years of Trump, the nation’s charter will fundamentally morph again — and it won’t be for the better.

Consider what has changed since Trump took office in 2017. Back then, there remained a reasonable expectation that the Constitution’s impeachment clause would operate as a serious check on the presidency, notwithstanding the failed attempt to impeach President Bill Clinton on charges that he lied under oath to a federal grand jury and obstructed justice regarding his sexual misconduct with Monica Lewinsky.

Trump survived two impeachments, the first of which arose from his attempt to persuade Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to publicly announce investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden, then his main political rival, on penalty of losing $391 million of appropriated funding to Ukraine if Zelensky did not do so. The second impeachment charged Trump with inciting an insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

In both cases, Trump tried to illegally influence a presidential election. Senate Republicans refused to convict in either — effectively deactivating the impeachment clause as........

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