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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

While former President Donald Trump did not cite any specifics, he did claim that rules found in the Constitution could be terminated in response to election fraud. Here is the post he made on his social media platform Truth Social in December 2022:

“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 Constitution does not allow any of its rules to be terminated in the manner described by Trump, legal experts told PolitiFact. A prisoner’s right to trial can be suspended in times of rebellion and invasion. All other constitutional alterations must be enacted through the amendment process.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie raised Trump’s Constitution comment during the Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee on Aug. 23, 2023.

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Truth Social (archive): @realDonalTrump’s post

PolitiFact: Can rules in the Constitution be ‘terminated’?

AccountableGOP: Chris Christie: “Donald Trump said it is okay to suspend the Constitution. The vote you take is to preserve, protect and defend, not suspend. I will always stand up for our constitution regardless of political pressure.” https://t.co/34CFQPe2gu

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Tom Kertscher joined as a Wisconsin Watch fact checker in January 2023 and contributes to our collaboration with the The Gigafact Project to fight misinformation online. Kertscher is a former longtime newspaper reporter, including at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who has worked as a self-employed journalist since 2019. His gigs include contributing writer for PolitiFact and sports freelancer for The Associated Press.