Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid has taken a wild turn after he called for the US Constitution to be “terminated”.
The 76-year-old’s divisive comments were made in relation to his repeated, incorrect claims that the 2020 election – in which he was defeated by Joe Biden by more than seven million votes after serving just one term – was “stolen”.
Taking to his Truth Social platform, Trump declared himself the “rightful winner” of the vote, and said articles in the US Constitution should be changed because of “the massive fraud” he falsely claims he experienced, adding America should “throw out” the previous election results or hold 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,” he posted on the social media site. “Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone False & Fraudulent Elections!”
Trump’s sensational comments were quickly slammed by the White House, with spokesman Andrew Bates also describing the US Constitution as a “sacrosanct document”.
“Attacking the constitution and all it stands for is anathema to the soul of our nation and should be universally condemned,” Bates said.
“You cannot only love America when you win.”
However, that rebuke did nothing to stop the father-of-five, who later went on the attack yet again on Truth Social, slamming critics within his own party.
“I wonder what Mitch McConnell, the RINOS [Republicans in name only], and all of the weak Republicans who couldn’t get the Presidential Election of 2020 approved and out of the way fast enough, are thinking now?” Trump wrote.
The billionaire’s latest claims come hot on the heels of his official announcement on November 15 that he plans to contest the presidential election in 2024.
But in recent weeks, Trump has attracted even more controversy than usual, firstly after new Twitter owner Elon Musk announced he would be welcomed back on the platform after having his account previously deactivated in the wake of the January 6 insurrection, and then after hosting a dinner with rapper Kanye West and Holocaust denier and White nationalist Nick Fuentes last month.
West has been under fire after making a string of anti-Semitic comments recently, and at the dinner, which was held at Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago resort, he reportedly criticised the former leader for failing to adequately support the rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Less than two weeks later, Trump issued a statement of strong support for those who were convicted over the riots.
“People have been treated unconstitutionally in my opinion and very, very unfairly, and we’re going to get to the bottom of it,” he said in a video, which was played at a fundraising event held by the Patriot Freedom Project.
He previously claimed he would look into issuing pardons and an official apology to those affected if he were elected again.