The Hill’s Top Opinions: Trump comes clean: Says America should ‘terminate’ the Constitution

View Online  Opinion Monday, December 5 ©  AP Good Monday evening. This is Daniel Allott with The Hill's Top Opinions.   Donald Trump has reached a new low in his unending quest to overturn the 2020 presidential election, writes Amherst College professor AUSTIN SARAT.   Over the weekend, Trump took to Truth Social to reveal his wish to "terminate" the Constitution.   What prompted the former president to lash out at the world's longest surviving written charter of government was the revelation last Friday that Twitter had taken "extraordinary steps to suppress" the Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of the 2020 election. If it hadn't been suppressed, the story – about Joe Biden's son's shady business dealings in Ukraine – likely would have cost Biden some votes.   Sarat dissects Trump's response – in which the former president predictably calls for a new election and for "the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution" – and notes that this differs substantially from Trump's previous proclamations of 'love' for the Constitution."   Then again, Sarat adds, "It has been apparent for a long time that Trump has never really had much of a grasp of what the Constitution actually says, let alone what the Founders thought or wanted."   Sarat, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College, says that "Not since the Civil War has a major political figure, or someone who took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, so openly renounced their loyalty to it and disavowed their pledge."   "These examples and others show how extraordinary Trump's statement about the Constitution really is," Sarat continues. "Never before in our history has a president, former president, or presidential candidate treated the Constitution in such a cavalier manner."   Sarat thinks Trump's statement about the Constitution should be "used by Special Counsel Jack Smith to bring the former president to justice for what happened" during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.   "And, just as important, the statement offers further evidence of Trump's unfitness ever again to take the oath of office and serve as president of the United States."   Read Sarat's entire op-ed here.   Not subscribed to The Hill's Top Opinions? Sign up here. MORE TOP OPINIONS Censorship by surrogate: Why Musk's document dump could be a game-changer By JONATHAN TURLEY, Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University Bias in the media is nothing new to Washington; newspapers and networks have long run interference for favored politicians or parties. However, this was not a case of a media company spiking its own story to protect a pal. It was a social media company that supplies a platform for people to communicate with each other on political, social and personal views. Read the op-ed here From haute cuisine to hate cuisine: Why Republicans are finally taking aim at Trump By STEVE ISRAEL, former U.S. representative (D-N.Y.) Republicans may sense an opportunity to achieve Trump's policies without Trump's personality. To probe cracks in Teflon Don, to exploit moments of perceived weakness, to hit back. After all, in Washington, we always kick a man when he's down … then drive over him with a bus … then back up the bus. Read the op-ed here For Republicans reviewing 2022, time to ask the impolite questions By  RON NEHRING, former chairman of the California Republican Party A truly useful post-election autopsy would review and scrutinize the party's candidates and the campaigns they waged, not with an eye toward blame, but rather toward identifying best practices and errors alike to better inform those who will be on the ballot next. Read the op-ed here William and Kate's US visit triumphs despite royal troubles By LEE COHEN, senior fellow of the United Kingdom's Bow Group and the Bruges Group The royal couple won many hearts and minds because, in sharp contrast to Harry and Meghan, they are gracious public servants who project positivity on others, rather than promoting their own agendas. In Boston, they celebrated environmental innovators, visited organizations focused on high-risk youth and prenatal development, and toured centers for green technology. William and Kate conducted themselves with relatability and modesty. Read the op-ed here QUICK TAKES Trump is still the go-to guy for GOP hate   What's the matter with Arizona?   Germany must overcome its reluctance to send heavy armor to Ukraine   What happened to the investigation into the Dobbs draft leak?   Stay Engaged The Hill's Top Opinions is written by Daniel Allott, an opinion editor at The Hill and the author of "On the Road in Trump's America: A Journey Into the Heart of a Divided Nation."   Views expressed by contributors are theirs and not the opinion of The Hill.   Check out The Hill's Opinion section online for the latest. Interested in submitting an op-ed? Click here. If you find this newsletter useful, please consider recommending it to others: thehill.com/opinion.  Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  Sign Up for Other Newsletters 1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 © 1998 - 2022 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

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