GOP backlash over Trump's call for 'termination' of the US Constitution grows despite his attempts to walk back comment

• Donald Trump claimed on Monday that he had not called for the Constitution to be cancelled.
• It came amid a backlash from Republican senators over the comment.

Former President Donald Trump said he had not called for the US Constitution to be cancelled, as Republican senators increasingly turned on him over the comment made in a social media post on Saturday.

"The Fake News is actually trying to convince the American People that I said I wanted to 'terminate' the Constitution. This is simply more DISINFORMATION & LIES," Trump said on his Truth Social page on Monday.

The denial came only two days after Trump claimed that fraud related to the 2020 presidential election allowed for the "termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution".

His claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him have been widely refuted.

Trump's attempt to distance himself from the comment came amid criticism from Senate Republicans.

"Very inappropriate," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, an ally of the former president, told The Hill. "The statement was inappropriate and I'm glad to see him clarify."

"I think it's ridiculous talk," Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, told the outlet. "To besmirch our dedication to the Constitution is ridiculous."

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, an advisor to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, told Politico that the comments cast doubt on the viability of Trump's presidential candidacy for 2024.

He added that the prospect of Trump winning the Republican nomination is "increasingly less likely, given statements like that."

Trump is so far the only high-profile Republican to have put his hat into the ring for the party's 2024 presidential nomination.

But according to Politico, Republican leaders are openly supportive of the prospect of several primary candidates taking on Trump in the battle for the Republican nomination.

In recent weeks Trump has seen his hold over the Republican Party weakened, after a poorer-than-expected showing by candidates he endorsed in the midterm elections, and a controversial recent dinner with Kanye West and Nick Fuentes, a notorious white nationalist.