On Saturday, former President Donald Trump made a post on his Truth Social website proposing that the U.S. Constitution be “terminated” so that he can be reinstalled as president.
Trump’s post was a response to reporting from journalist Matt Taibbi, which showcased how former Twitter staffers had agreed to restrict posts relating to the contents of a laptop that belonged to President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Many journalists have noted that this content was restricted largely to prevent the distribution of nude photos of Hunter Biden without his consent.
Nevertheless, Trump questioned whether a new election should soon take place to rectify this supposed wrong — which he suggested was responsible for his electoral loss — or whether he should immediately be “declare[d] the RIGHTFUL WINNER” of the 2020 election.
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” Trump said.
Several political and legal commentators have decried Trump’s statement.
“Trump’s announced intention to trash the United States Constitution means he can never be trusted to obey the Constitution’s Oath to preserve and protect it,” said Harvard Law professor emeritus Laurence Tribe.
“Every Member of Congress swore an oath to ‘defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,'” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Virginia). “Donald Trump has openly declared himself an enemy of the Constitution.”
Republicans, on the other hand, have refused to condemn Trump’s statement, going as far as to dodge questions on the matter when confronted by reporters.
In an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), chair of the Republican Governance Group, evaded questions from host George Stephanopoulos about Trump’s call to upend the Constitution, saying that he wasn’t “interested in looking backwards” — even though the former president had issued the statement just one day prior.
When asked if he would support Trump in the 2024 presidential race, Joyce said it was still “early” in the selection process, but that he would support whoever is nominated by the GOP.
“You just said you’d support a candidate who’s come out for suspending the Constitution,” Stephanopoulos said.
“Well, you know, [Trump] says a lot of things,” Joyce responded. “I can’t be really chasing every one of these crazy statements that come from any of these candidates.”
“You can’t come out against someone who’s for suspending the Constitution?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“He says a lot of things, but that doesn’t mean that it’s ever going to happen,” Joyce said, completely disregarding Trump’s illegal attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election just 23 months ago.
Meanwhile, polling indicates that Trump is losing popularity among the American people, as well as among members of his own party.
Nationwide polling from the University of Marquette Law School, conducted in mid-November and published last week, shows that 32 percent of Americans view Trump favorably, while nearly two-thirds (66 percent) have an unfavorable view of the former president. The poll also shows that the vast majority of U.S. voters (68 percent) don’t want him to run for president again.
Trump is also faring poorly against his top GOP contender for the nomination, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who hasn’t yet announced a presidential campaign. According to the poll, Trump is down by 27 points against DeSantis among respondents who were asked which of the two Republicans they would prefer to get the party’s nomination.
Trump is also losing to Biden in a hypothetical general election rematch, with the current president ahead of his predecessor by 5 points, according to the poll.
Notably, the Marquette Law School poll was conducted weeks before Trump called for the “termination” of the Constitution, and before he met with rapper Kanye West and white supremacist Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, last month.
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