House Republican sidesteps questions on supporting Trump in 2024 after call to suspend Constitution

Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) on Sunday sidestepped questions about whether he would support former President Trump as the 2024 nominee after Trump suggested the termination of the Constitution’s election provisions over unfounded claims of mass electoral fraud in 2020.

During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” anchor George Stephanopoulos pressed Joyce on Trump’s Truth Social post on Saturday calling for the “termination of all rules,” including those in the Constitution, following the 2020 presidential election.

“He says a lot of things,” Joyce said. “You have to take him in context. And right now I have to worry about making sure his Republican Governance Group and the Republican majority, that we make things work for the American people. And I can’t be really chasing every one of these crazy statements that come out about — from any of these candidates that come out.”

Trump formally entered the 2024 race late last month, while other potential contenders, including former Vice President Mike Pence, have indicated they will make a decision after the holidays.

The Ohio Republican expressed doubt that Trump would ultimately win the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, pointing to the other prominent party figures who are considering a run while avoiding asking if he would support Trump himself if he is the nominee.

“I will support whoever the Republican nominee is. And I just don’t think at this point he will be able to get there, because I think there’s a lot of other good-quality candidates out there,” Joyce said of Trump on ABC.

When pressed by Stephanopoulos on supporting Trump after he called for suspending the Constitution, Joyce argued he could because the former president would have no ability to do so.

“He says a lot of things, but that doesn’t mean that it’s ever going to happen,” Joyce responded.

“So you got to accept fact from fantasy, and fantasy is that we’re going to suspend the Constitution and go backwards,” he continued. “We’re moving forward, and we’re going to continue to move forward as a Republican majority and as a Republican conference.”

This story was updated at 3:06 p.m.