Former President Donald Trump called for “termination” of the Constitution and reversal of the 2020 election after emails were released revealing internal conversations at Twitter about suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story.
The New York Post story suggesting corruption in the family of then-presidential candidate Joe Biden was released a month before the 2020 election. The emails, reported by independent journalist Matt Taibbi, show Twitter officials coordinating to justify restrictions on sharing the story amid concerns their actions could be seen as political censorship.
Emails also showed Twitter workers deleting tweets at the request of “Biden team,” a privilege Taibbi said the social media company granted to both political parties. However, Taibbi noted that the system “wasn’t balanced,” writing that it “was based on contacts.”
“Because Twitter was and is overwhelmingly staffed by people of one political orientation, there were more channels, more ways to complain, open to the left (well, Democrats) than the right,” he explained.
Trump, now in his presidential campaign, seized on the emails to up the ante on his long-running push to overturn the 2020 election. After previously trying to stay in power through a constitutional loophole, he claimed it’s now time to go beyond what’s allowed in the nation’s cornerstone document.
“Do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION?” he said on his Truth Social platform. “A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude 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!”
The Biden administration responded the same day, PBS reported, with a White House spokesman saying, “You cannot only love America when you win.”
“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,” the spokesman, Andrew Bates, said. “Attacking the Constitution and all it stands for is anathema to the soul of our nation.”
Top elected Republicans have been quiet so far, NBC News reported, but some lawmakers have made comments.
Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) said on CBS that Trump’s comment was “certainly not consistent with the oath that we all take.” On CNN, Rep.-elect Mike Lawler (R-NY) said, “Obviously, I don’t support that.”
“The Constitution is set for a reason to protect the rights of every American,” Lawler said. “Frankly, I think people are tired of looking backward. I think people are tired of discussing the grievances of prior elections.”
