> What do you think a defense against this would even look like? To attempt to do so sounds almost absurd because it’s just such a remote possibility.

Stronger constitutional limits. For example, pardons should not be a thing that could be done unilaterally. Ideally, they shouldn't be a thing at all.

At the same time, the Constitution needs to be a bit more malleable. The Amendment process is notoriously hard, and the US Senate structure is uniquely unamendable.