WASHINGTON — Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski was among the first officials in her party to publicly condemn former President Donald Trump’s weekend social media post suggesting he wanted to terminate the U.S. Constitution.
Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan and Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola later joined a chorus of politicians on both sides of the aisle defending the nation’s founding document.
Trump fueled baseless claims of voting fraud during the 2020 election and called for the “termination” of the Constitution on social media platform Truth Social on Saturday.
“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 said. “Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”
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Murkowski responded Sunday on Twitter. “Suggesting the termination of the Constitution is not only a betrayal of our Oath of Office, it’s an affront to our Republic,” she said.
Murkowski has long been critical of the former president’s election fraud claims. After the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, Murkowski was one of seven GOP senators who voted to convict Trump. The former president openly campaigned against Murkowski ahead of her recent reelection win, backing her Republican challenger, Kelly Tshibaka.
Sullivan, a Marine reservist, weighed in via a statement Monday evening.
“As both a United States Senator and a U.S. Marine, I have taken an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution,” he said. “Like all those who serve and have served in the military, I’ve been willing to fight and die to defend our Constitution and to fulfill this oath. Any suggestion that the Constitution can be discarded is ridiculous.”
[GOP lawmakers largely silent after Trump suggests ‘termination’ of Constitution]
Asked for comment on Monday, Peltola’s spokesman Josh Wilson said, “Representative Peltola supports the Constitution.”
Since his initial posts, Trump has returned to Truth Social to insist that he does not want to terminate the Constitution.
“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, just like RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, and all of their other HOAXES & SCAMS,” he said.
Trump’s latest attack on U.S. elections has drawn outrage from party leaders on both sides of the aisle.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, drew a connection between Trump’s post and his recent dinner with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, and white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
“For Donald Trump, last week it was dinner with antisemites. Now he’s calling for an end to America’s constitutional democracy. He’s out of control and a danger to our democracy. Everyone must condemn this attack on our democracy,” Schumer said on Twitter.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., said “of course I disagree with that” when asked about Trump’s comments, according to POLITICO.
The White House also weighed in, scolding the former president for targeting the Constitution.
“Attacking the Constitution and all it stands for is anathema to the soul of our nation and should be universally condemned,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement.