Former President Donald Trump has asked for the Constitution to be repealed in order to invalidate the 2020 election and restore him to office.
"Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW 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 wrote in Truth Social. "Our great 'Founders' did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!"
Trump's tweet occurred after internal Twitter communications that revealed deliberation in 2020 over a New York Post article regarding information discovered on Hunter Biden's laptop were made public.
Trump, who last month declared his third run for president, is still viewed as the Republican Party's leader. After the disappointing midterm results, party leaders had hoped that the former president would abandon his rhetoric of election denial.
Trump's comments, according to White House spokesperson Andrew Bates, are "anathema to the soul of our nation" and should be universally condemned.
"The American Constitution is a sacrosanct document that for over 200 years has guaranteed that freedom and the rule of law prevail in our great country," Bates said in a statement. "The Constitution brings the American people together - regardless of party - and elected leaders swear to uphold it."
On Sunday, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, a vocal Trump critic, condemned the former president's Truth Social remark. Cheney, the vice chair of the House select committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, stated that Trump's statement "was his view on 1/6 and remains his view today."
Cheney, who will leave the House next month, has tried to move the Republican Party away from the former president's influence. Her public opposition to Trump and participation in the January 6 committee certainly resulted in her defeat in an August primary, despite the fact that the Republican outlier has gained a strong national following among moderate Democrats and Republicans alike.
Trump gave his support to the mob responsible for the horrific attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 earlier this week. In a September interview, Trump claimed to be "financially supporting" some of the Jan. 6 defendants and stated that if reelected, he would pardon the accused and apologize on behalf of the government.
Additionally, he has drawn criticism for hosting dinner at his Mar-a-Lago residence with rapper Kanye West, who has recently made a number of antisemitic comments, and known White supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
