It’s impossible to keep up with every ridiculous idea Donald Trump injects into the public discourse, but late last year, the former president explicitly crossed a line he hadn’t broached before.
Suggesting that he secretly won the 2020 election that he lost, the Republican — in writing — endorsed a suspension of the United States’ constitutional order. “A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” Trump wrote in December 2022, adding that the “Founders” would agree with him.
The comments were not well received, and even several Republicans were quick to make clear that they were not on board with the idea of “terminating” constitutional law in service of Trump’s conspiracy theories. Rep. John James of Michigan, for example, expressed his disapproval to WLNS in Lansing.
“A man who would suspend the Constitution can’t be trusted,” James said. “Anyone who will put their egos over people is not fit to lead.”
That was seven months ago. Business Insider reported this week that the GOP congressman has apparently changed his mind.
Rep. John James of Michigan became the latest House Republican to endorse former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign on Tuesday, joining the rest of his state’s GOP House members in doing so.
We’ve all seen politicians take some rather dramatic turns over the years, but this one was especially jarring. James went from being disgusted by Trump’s willingness to “terminate” constitutional law, and telling the public that the former president “can’t be trusted” and “is not fit to lead,” to formally endorsing Trump’s candidacy.
When a Detroit News reporter asked what led to the change of heart, the Michigan congressman — who endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz over Trump in 2016 — said he expected the former president to support policies to serve his district, adding, “It’s the fact that we are six months worse off under the Biden administration.”
I’m not sure how that makes sense. For one thing, the United States is not worse off as compared to late last year. For another, even if James were convinced otherwise, there are roughly a dozen contenders for the GOP presidential nomination. He didn’t have to throw his support behind the one he said is unfit for office. But he did anyway. It can be difficult to understand the far-right Republicans who’ve spent years as Trump loyalists — their willingness to go along with his lies, corruption, incompetence, etc. — but at least there’s a degree of consistency to their ideology. They’re wedded to the MAGA vision, and their commitment is unshakable. Those who support Trump despite clearly knowing better, however, are tougher to defend.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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