On Saturday, December 3, 2022, Donald Trump posted the following on Truth Social:
“A Massive Fraud of this type and target, allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution. Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”
Read that again. A former President of the United States — and the leading candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination — publicly called for the termination of the Constitution. Not in a speech that could be spun. Not in a private conversation that could be denied. In writing. On a platform he owns. With his name on it.
The Context
The post came in the wake of the “Twitter Files,” a series of internal documents released by Elon Musk that purported to show Twitter’s content moderation decisions around the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020. Trump seized on the story to reaffirm his claim that the 2020 election was “rigged,” and his proposed remedy was not an investigation, not a lawsuit, not a constitutional amendment — but the termination of the Constitution itself.
This was not hyperbole. This was not a joke. This was the man who swore an oath to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States” — twice — explicitly calling for its termination because he didn’t like an election result.
The Response
The White House called it “anathema to the soul of our nation.” A handful of Republicans offered tepid pushback. Most said nothing. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to comment directly. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy — who was about to become Speaker — didn’t address it. The Republican National Committee didn’t issue a statement.
Two days later, on December 5, Trump posted again: “The Fake News is actually trying to convince the American People that I said I wanted to ‘terminate’ the Constitution. This is simply more DISINFORMATION & LIES.” He did not delete the original post. The original post was still visible. It said what it said. He denied it while the evidence was one scroll away.
Why It Matters
This wasn’t a hot mic moment. It wasn’t a staffer’s interpretation. It was a sitting presidential frontrunner, in writing, calling for the termination of the foundational document of American democracy. In any other era, in any other party, this would have been immediately disqualifying. Instead, it was absorbed into the news cycle within 48 hours, and Trump continued to lead every 2024 Republican primary poll.
The silence was the story. Not just what Trump said — but the fact that an entire political party heard a call to terminate the Constitution and decided it wasn’t worth responding to. Because responding would mean confronting the man they needed to win. And winning mattered more than the Constitution.
Bottom Line
“The termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.” Those are his words. In writing. Published voluntarily. Denied while still visible. And treated by the Republican Party as just another Tuesday. If a Democratic president had posted this, there would have been impeachment articles filed within the hour. Trump posted it and became the nominee. The words are in the record. The silence is in the record too.
Sources
- Politico: “Trump denies he suggested ‘termination’ of Constitution, without deleting post,” December 5, 2022.
- Associated Press: Trump calls for “termination” of Constitution over 2020 election, December 3, 2022.
- New York Times: Trump’s post and Republican responses.
- White House: Press secretary response calling the statement “anathema to the soul of our nation.”