As Georgia voters are poised to decide who fills a Senate seat in what is seen as a critical and close election, former President Donald Trump is calling for the “termination” of the constution and the bypassing of all laws to restore him to power or hold a new election. This comes on the heels of Twitter owner Elon Musk’s “I’ve got a story that’ll but this town wide open” release of Twitter files that many say turned out to be a snoozefest.
A lingering queston now is: will Trump’s call for axing the constituiton for a dictatorial form of government (who needs that fly-ridden old constution anyhow?)hurt Republican Herschel Walker in his battle to defeat Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock? A new CNN poll has it 52% Warnock and 48% Walker heading into the December 6 election.
This will also likely put GOPers in Congress on the spot: will they strongly reject or repudiate Trump’s call to deep six the constutiton and laws? Or will they, as usual, try not to comment, pretend they’ve got a sudden call on their cellphones, rush into restrooms, comment on how they love democracy but not mention Trump, etc.
If Trump does get the 2024 Presidential nomination his comments will be a godsend to Democratic political ad makers. “Scrap the Constitution Now” might not be a terrific campaign slogan.
Trump is explicitly, literally calling here for the suspension of a the Constitution so he can be reinstated as president.
"A massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allow for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles *****even those found in the Constitution *** pic.twitter.com/5lRmwSvMyi
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) December 3, 2022
Ask every single Republican candidate and officeholder whether they support or oppose Donald Trump's treasonous desire to ditch our Constitution so that he can illegally be restored to power. INSIST on an answer. No response = agreement with Trump. https://t.co/85qRjDnuMe
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) December 3, 2022
Has either @FedSoc or @TheRepLawyer issued a statement today condemning Trump's statement calling for the overturning of the 2020 election through "the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution?" pic.twitter.com/JEP9mmrVhC
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) December 3, 2022
Shorter Trump: Goddam right I attempted a coup; and I want to do it again. https://t.co/mFlqWSucDI
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) December 3, 2022
11th Circuit making clear that his status as FPOTUS does not make him above the law is creating desperation to get the privileges and immunities of the office back as soon as possible so he can shield himself. Sad! https://t.co/8YDtBCjiIh
— @[email protected] (@AshaRangappa_) December 3, 2022
Doctor, now he's standing next to the outdoor pig-in-a-blanket table, hoarsely shouting that the Constitution must be suspended so that he can be reinstated as President. What should we do? pic.twitter.com/Qiekz7YS8j
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) December 3, 2022
Never saw a Presidential candidate succeed with one single message of "Boo-Hoo."
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) December 3, 2022
this is probably the most nakedly authoritarian thing Trump has ever posted pic.twitter.com/fnO5VbXyhX
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 3, 2022
Will every Republican now be asked whether he or she supports a presidential candidate who calls for the “termination” of the US Constitution so he can be installed as president? Will they be too busy investigating Hunter Biden’s Dick pics to respond?
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) December 3, 2022
Oh, shut up. You and your campaign worked closely with Russia to “win”. Do you throw out the presidential election results, and declare the rightful winner- Hillary Clinton? Now go back to showing your Mar-a-Lago buddies the top secret documents you stole. pic.twitter.com/l5DJm4CHI3
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) December 3, 2022
Shoutout to those who called us “alarmists” for referring to Trump as an authoritarian. Here he is literally calling to suspend the Constitution, to put himself in power again. This comes after he incited a violent insurrection. We were alarmed—not alarmist—because it’s alarming. pic.twitter.com/tgrVawK6yW
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) December 3, 2022
He is also a candidate in the 2024 election, which journalists have to cover fairly. By what logic can that coverage now proceed? Neutrality makes sense only within a constitutional order that his candidacy is trying to upend. Boosting his opponents would just erode public trust. https://t.co/I35Uo2tN55
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) December 3, 2022
Didn't we learn before January 6, 2021 to take Trump literally and seriously? He is calling for the suspension of the U.S. Constitution to overthrow the President of the United States. pic.twitter.com/L2tGMTUGWj
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) December 3, 2022
Donald Trump, running on a novel “Abolish the Constitution” platform for his third bid https://t.co/bj1LTLXO8T
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) December 3, 2022
DONALD TRUMP, the former president and the most likely GOP presidential nominee in 2024, today on Truth Social called for the suspension of the Constitution to overturn the 2020 election.
The latest in Playbook: https://t.co/7hcxIU9p0l
— POLITICO Playbook (@playbookdc) December 3, 2022
“The former prez and the person polls show is still the most likely GOP prez nominee in 2024, today on Truth Social called for the suspension of the Constitution to overturn the 2020 election, citing false conspiracy theories about” election fraud. https://t.co/soT8n7kVEW
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) December 3, 2022
That, and his missive a few days ago that Kari Lake should simply be installed as governor. https://t.co/W3iS25hHoC
— Michael Freeman (@michaelpfreeman) December 3, 2022
The same people who were melting down over Biden “violating the First Amendment,” even though he literally wasn’t even POTUS during the Twitter saga, are eerily silent as Trump literally called for a suspension of the entire Constitution today. Funny how that works out.
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) December 3, 2022
Today, the GOP’s front runner for president in 2024 is literally calling to throw out the Constitution and install him as a dictator.
But two years ago the Biden campaign asked Twitter to take down tweets with pictures of Hunter Biden’s penis, and THAT’S a real scandal.
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) December 3, 2022
Trump just called for the suspension of the Constitution and it is the final straw for zero republicans, especially the ones who call themselves “constitutional conservatives.”
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) December 3, 2022
Trump explicitly calls for overturning the constitution less than a week after meeting with two Hitler sympathizers.
The vast majority of Republican members of Congress refuse to criticize him by name. https://t.co/6AXwpQQSut
— Max Berger (@maxberger) December 3, 2022
Donald Trump remains the single biggest threat facing the survival of the U.S. Constitution. https://t.co/ziYLOuaokG
— US Rep Brendan Boyle (@RepBrendanBoyle) December 3, 2022
Donald Trump remains the single biggest threat facing the survival of the U.S. Constitution. https://t.co/ziYLOuaokG
— US Rep Brendan Boyle (@RepBrendanBoyle) December 3, 2022
Members of Congress take an oath to "defend the Constitution."
Trump just called for the Constitution to be "terminated."
How can a member of Congress support Trump without violating their oath?
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) December 3, 2022
When the former president calls for suspension of the constitution so he can be reinstated in office, it’s way past time for the APA to disavow its “Goldwater Rule” & allow America’s psychiatric community to talk about Trump’s deep mental illness. It’s not just a quirk. He’s ill. https://t.co/9saQyAXXWb
— Jonathan Reiner (@JReinerMD) December 3, 2022
I voted to impeach Trump twice; both times we charged that he was a “threat to the Constitution.”
Republicans protected him, even after he tried to overturn an election.
He just demanded the “termination” of the Constitution’s electoral process in an attempt to return to power. https://t.co/94PE12UoqN
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) December 3, 2022
Soooo, are we all supposed to just ignore this??
Every R on a Sunday show tomorrow should be asked if they agree with Trump’s call for suspending the Constitution.
Read his words to them and make them answer.
Then asked if they would support him for 2024 if he’s the nominee. https://t.co/9MiCaGTeg6
— Tara Setmayer ? (@TaraSetmayer) December 3, 2022
The full Mussolini pic.twitter.com/Q2ziXfRZmQ
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) December 3, 2022
Photo 205227851 © Adonis1969 | Dreamstime.com
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.