Indeed, short of fully eliminating the filibuster, there are things Trump could join with the anti-filibuster Democrats and perhaps some Republicans in attempting: getting rid of the 60-vote standard on motions to proceed, streamlining voting on procedural matters, and other initiatives. Of course, that’s probably not possible, either; these days the filibuster-reforming Democrats seem to oppose everything Trump does. But if they refused to join him in making changes they supported just a few years ago, Trump could at least shine a light on their inconsistency.

And inconsistency — call it hypocrisy if you like — is always a factor when it comes to the filibuster. In late 2008, after Republicans lost everything in the election — House, Senate, White House — the former GOP Senator Fred Thompson offered his old colleagues a short course in the filibuster now that they were in the minority.