Former president undermining one of his achievements

One of former President Donald Trump’s greatest achievements in office was his remaking of the American judiciary with the appointment of three outstanding Supreme Court justices and hundreds of lower court judges who defend the Constitution from the federal bench each day.

But with just a few bizarre social media posts, Trump has repudiated that entire legacy.

After the Supreme Court rejected his request to stop a congressional committee from obtaining his tax returns, Trump blasted the court, using the language of the left-wing critics who question the legitimacy of his judicial appointments. “The Supreme Court has lost its honor, prestige, and standing, & has become nothing more than a political body, with our Country paying the price,” Trump declared. If anything, the court’s actions in this case — and the refusal of any Trump judicial appointees to embrace his election denial conspiracy theories — prove precisely the opposite: He appointed jurists whose only loyalty is to our laws and Constitution.

But apparently that loyalty is not the standard Trump seeks to uphold. In a rant without precedent in presidential rhetoric, Trump called last weekend for the “termination” of the Constitution. “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 thundered, adding, “Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”

This is not conservatism. Respect for the Constitution and its original meaning is the bedrock of the modern conservative movement. For someone seeking the Republican presidential nomination to call for the Constitution’s termination is nothing short of heresy. This should be rejected and repudiated by every self-respecting conservative.

It’s time for Trump supporters to acknowledge that Trump is spinning out of control. Yes, his presidency was filled with historic accomplishments, and he was treated unfairly by his critics. But something has snapped. He has descended into a spiral of conspiracy theories and personal grievances.

Fellow conservatives, it’s time to move on, because Trump is unstable and because he cannot win. HeTrump has made himself irreversibly toxic to swing voters. A new Marquette Law School national poll finds that his unfavorable rating has surged to 66% — with about one-third of Republicans and independents viewing him negatively.

Why was Democrats’ antiMAGA strategy so effective in the midterm elections? Because Trump has irretrievably tarnished his own brand. For swing voters, “MAGA” no longer means all the great Trump policies that a majority of Americans approved of while he was in office. It means election denial, the refusal to graciously concede or preside over a peaceful transition, the incitement of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol — and now his public call to suspend the U.S. Constitution.

But instead of figuring this out, he is doubling down on the insanity. He sees the polls showing that the number of Republicans favoring a 2024 run has declined precipitously and that he is trailing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in multiple states. So he is trying to energize his base with red meat. But the more he does so, the more he drives away others and makes himself unelectable.

Can Trump supporters see what Trump can’t? Democrats have won three elections running against Trump. Will the GOP let them do it a fourth time? Republicans have many outstanding leaders who could lead the conservative movement to victory in 2024. Trump is not one of them.

If Republicans nominate this man, they will lose — and they will deserve to.