Former President Donald Trump opted out of inking a loyalty oath instituted by the state of Illinois in which candidates pledge against advocating for overthrowing the government, according to a WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times report published over the weekend. "The pledge, a vestige of the McCarthy Red Scare era, is not mandatory, but has been signed by candidates for decades, including by Trump in 2020 and 2016," the report noted, adding that President Joe Biden and Trump's Republican primary rivals have signed the pledge this year.
Biden's campaign sharply condemned Trump's move. “For the entirety of our nation’s history, presidents have put their hand on the Bible and sworn to protect and uphold the Constitution of the United States – and Donald Trump can’t bring himself to sign a piece of paper saying he won’t attempt a coup to overthrow our government,” spokesperson Michael Tyler said in a statement on Saturday. “We know he’s deadly serious, because three years ago today he tried and failed to do exactly that. This is the same man who thinks American troops who died protecting the ideals outlined in the Constitution are suckers and losers – yet calls the convicted felons who violently assaulted and killed police officers on January 6th ‘hostages’. He can’t fathom putting anything – our country, our principles, or the wellbeing and safety of the American people – above his own quest for retribution and power."
Trump's campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung responded by asserting that Trump would "once again take the oath of office on January 20th, 2025, and will swear ‘to faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.'"
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker tweeted in response to Trump's lack of signature on the anniversary of the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, writing, "Pledging not to overthrow our democracy is a hard thing to do when you’ve already attempted it once."
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