Trump Backtracks On Calling For ‘Termination’ Of Constitution Following Backlash

Topline

Former President Donald Trump reversed course Monday after calling for the “termination” of parts of the Constitution over the weekend, following a wave of Republican backlash, insisting in a series of Truth Social posts the “fake news media” had misinterpreted his suggestion that election rules should be scrapped so he can return to office.

Key Facts

Trump insisted Monday that “what he said was that . . . steps must be immediately taken to right the wrong,” to deal with the “massive & widespread fraud & deception” he claims occurred in the 2020 presidential election (there is no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 race).

The comments are a reversal from a Truth Social post on Saturday calling for “the termination of all rules . . . even those found in the Constitution,” statements Trump made in response to Twitter owner Elon Musk’s unveiling of internal documents that show how the company decided to pull a New York Post story about President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden from the social media platform weeks before the 2020 election.

Key Background

Musk on Friday released documents through the independent journalist Matt Taibbi that offered few new revelations, but showed how Twitter officials questioned whether files from the younger Biden’s laptop–which was the source for the New York Post story–were a product of a Russian hacking scheme. In the wake of the release, Trump called the Twitter documents “a really big story about Twitter and various forms of government fraud,” and claimed “Big Tech Companies” coordinated with “the DNC, & the Democrat Party” to engage in “MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION.” Trump also suggested the results of the 2020 presidential election should be tossed and the “rightful winner” declared.

Tangent

The former president’s comments led to a stream of criticism among Republicans. Former Vice President Mike Pence reportedly said Monday government officials and anyone who is a contender for public office “should make it clear that we will support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” in an interview on WVOC radio in Columbia, S.C.

Chief Critic

Musk on Sunday joined the criticism of Trump’s statements about revoking portions of the Constitution, tweeting “The Constitution is greater than any President. End of story.”

Further Reading

Some GOP Lawmakers Denounce Trump’s Call For ‘Termination’ Of Constitution (Forbes)