Former President Donald Trump has faced harsh criticism from both political camps after he called for parts of the US Constitution to be suspended as a conclusion to his claim that the 2020 election was stolen. This is reported by several media, including the AP news agency.
Trump, who announced last month that he is running for president again, has taken to Truth Social, the social network he founded, calling for the constitution to be suspended to invalidate the 2020 election.
“A massive fraud of this nature and magnitude permits the repeal of all rules, regulations and articles, including those in the Constitution,” he wrote. “Our great ‘founders’ did not want and would not condone false and fraudulent elections!”
Mike Turner condemned the comments “in the strongest possible terms”
Trump’s statements, however, met with clear criticism not only from the Democrats, but also in the ranks of his own party. When asked about this, Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday that he “vehemently” disagreed with Trump and “strongly condemned” his statements. He said they should be a factor when Republicans decide who should lead their party in 2024. “I believe people will consider a statement like that when evaluating a candidate.”
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger called Trump’s statement “insane,” and party colleague and Rep. Mike Lawler stressed on CNN’s State of the Union that the Constitution was created for a specific reason “to protect the rights of every American protection”. He thinks the former president would be well advised “to focus on the future if he wants to run for president again.”
Hakeem Jeffries calls Trump’s statements ‘strange and extreme’
The tone of the Democrats is even sharper: The new chairman of the party in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, described Trump’s statement on Sunday’s ABC program “This Week” as “strange and extreme” and explained that Republicans would have to decide whether to continue supporting Trump’s anti-democratic views.
“Republicans will have to sort out their issues with the former president and decide whether to part ways with him and return to some sanity, or continue to bow to extremism, not just Trump, but Trumpism,” Jeffries said. US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat of New York) even called Trump a “danger to democracy”.
“An inviolable document”
The White House also responded to Trump’s statements: “The American Constitution is an untouchable document that has guaranteed for over 200 years that liberty and the rule of law prevail in our great country,” said spokesman Andrew Bates in a statement. “An attack on the Constitution and all it stands for is anathema to the soul of our nation.”