GOP Lawmaker Flat-Out Refuses To Condemn Trump's Call To Terminate Constitution
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Despite a relentless grilling on ABC’s “This Week,” Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) on Sunday refused to condemn Donald Trump’s jaw-dropping demand to terminate the Constitution and anoint him as president.
Trump was so incensed over new information that Twitter aimed to moderate misinformation about Hunter Biden’s laptop — and insisted it somehow made the 2020 election fraudulent — that he demanded the bedrock document of American rights and laws be tossed out, and make him president again, or hold a new election.
Yet Joyce, who is chair of the Republican Governance Group, did everything he could to dodge criticizing Trump’s statement — and even vowed to support him if Trump becomes the GOP nominee for president.
Joyce bizarrely insisted Trump’s statement needs to be taken in “context” (though failed to explain what that might be) and that Trump “says a lot of things.”
Joyce also insisted he “can’t be chasing every one of these crazy statements” and that terminating the Constitution is “fantasy,” not a reality. In fact, a president can unilaterally declare a “national emergency,” vastly expanding his powers, including over Constitutional rights. That’s exactly what critics feared Trump would do during the Jan. 6 insurrection last year.
“You support a candidate who's come out for suspending the constitution.”
“You know, he says a lot of things, you have to take him in context..”
“But that's an extraordinary statement. You can't come out against someone who's for suspending the constitution?” pic.twitter.com/v4e0VREBOX— Acyn (@Acyn) December 4, 2022
“This Week” host George Stephanopoulos didn’t let Joyce off the hook. He repeatedly and bluntly asked him if and how he could support a presidential candidate who called for terminating the Constitution.
It’s “an extraordinary statement,” Stephanopoulos said at one point. “You can’t come out against someone who supports suspending the Constitution?”
Joyce could not.
While Democrats lashed Trump’s call to kill the Constitution, only a handful of Republicans, including Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and House Intelligence chair Rep. Mike Turner (Ohio), slammed back.
Trump’s demand was “certainly not consistent with the Oath we all take,” Turner said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “I vehemently disagree with the statement that Trump has made,” he added.
Critics on Twitter were dumbfounded.
I'm curious what context makes statements of suspending the Constitution palatable?
— Andy King (No Relation) (@AndyKingSoCal) December 4, 2022
We all know the context. pic.twitter.com/dkMeh7tPlI
— Steward Beckham 🇺🇸🇺🇦 🌻 (@iTweetyNerd) December 4, 2022
Dammit! How hard is it to just say, "No, I will not support Donald J. Trump for president whether or not he becomes the @GOP nominee in 2024 especially when he's calling for suspending the Constitution just so he can become president." Only cowards find it hard to just say it.
— Zebert Brown (@ZmanSpeaks) December 4, 2022
The oath this man takes tells him to protect the Constitution against enemies, foreign and domestic. It is very, very clear cut, no gray. A former president wanting to get back to power without the votes and wanting to block the Constitution is a domestic enemy.
— Roland Gerritsen van der Hoop (@rgh1205) December 4, 2022
He did not say "suspend," he said "terminate." @ThisWeekABC is softening his language, why? This is malpractice. pic.twitter.com/km6MYbBAyN
— OPA (@ObservatoireUS) December 4, 2022
I don’t want to hear another Republican try to convince us Trump is just joking this time, and we should lighten up. That ship sailed on January 6, 2021.
— Andy Cohen ☮️ (@AC_Californian) December 4, 2022
Dear @RepDaveJoyce,
The next time someone asks you if you would support a Republican candidate who is advocating the suspension of the U.S. Constitution, the answer is no. FYI.— CK (@HRCDemocrat) December 4, 2022
Related...
Even Right-Wingers Think Elon Musk's Hunter Biden Reveal Is A Nothingburger
Trump Calls For 'Termination' Of Constitution Over Elon Musk's 'Twitter Files' Leak
Democrats Demand Documents In Suspected Pardon Bribery Scam Linked To Trump PAC
GOP Chairwoman Condemns Antisemitism, But Twitter Users Are Skeptical