Mitch McConnell criticizes Trump's calls to suspend Constitution, one of few Republicans to do so

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday seemed to criticize former President Donald Trump's calls to "suspend" the Constitution, NPR reported.

"Anyone seeking the presidency who thinks that the Constitution could somehow be suspended or not followed, it seems to me would have a very hard time being sworn in as president of the United States," McConnell said while answering reporter's questions on Capitol Hill.

When asked by CNN if he would support Trump if he were the 2024 GOP nominee, McConnell would not commit either way.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"What I'm saying is it would be pretty hard to be sworn into the presidency if you're not willing to uphold the Constitution," McConnell answered. "That's what I said, and I've just said it again."

McConnell's comments were in response to a post made by the former president on his social media platform, Truth Social, in which he appeared to call for the termination of the Constitution, citing the disproven claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

"A massive fraud of this type allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution," Trump wrote. "Our great 'founders' did not want, and would not condone, False and Fraudulent elections!"

While the White House was quick to condemn Trump's remarks, the GOP reacted more slowly. McConnell has become one of very few within the party to speak outright against Trump's comments, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), possibly the next speaker of the House, has not referenced Trump's post directly.