Karoline Leavitt’s use of one word has raised eyebrows as she tried to defend Trump’s call to nationalize voting

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has been slammed for defending Donald Trump’s call to upend the U.S. election process.

The president sparked backlash this week after suggesting that alleged electoral fraud meant elections should be nationalized. Such a move would clash with the principals of the U.S. Constitution, that allows states to oversee their own elections without interference from Washington.

Leavitt initially appeared to downplay the severity of Trump’s comments when addressing reporters on Tuesday.

“The president believes in the United States Constitution,” the press secretary said, before quickly caveating that statement with a key word.

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“However,” she continued, “he believes there has obviously been a lot of fraud and irregularities that have taken place in American elections.

“Voter ID is a highly popular and common-sense policy that the president wants to pursue, and he wants to pass legislation to make that happen for all states across the country.”

Leavitt’s statement soon attracted pushback itself, with critics focusing on her use of “however” and accusing Trump of a direct attack on the Constitution.

Democratic campaigner Melanie D’Arrigo posted: “The president believes in the United States Constitution, however ... [adds to the list of ways he's currently violating the Constitution].”

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Multiple social media users posted on X that if you truly believe in the Constitution, a “however” would not be necessary.

House Democrat Jim McGovern made that point by simply sharing the dictionary definition of “however” underneath a clip of Leavitt’s remarks.

Democrat representative for Colorado Jason Crow, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, shared the same footage with a personal vow to defend the Constitution.

“I went to war three times to defend our country,” he said. “I saw our fellow Americans give their lives to protect our rights & values.I swore a lifetime oath to our Constitution. I intend to keep it.”

Alleging electoral fraud is one of the president’s favored grievances. He has repeatedly claimed that the 2020 election was rigged to deliver a win to his predecessor President Joe Biden.

No legal challenge to the outcome of the 2020 election has ever held up under scrutiny in any U.S. court.

“I want to see elections be honest, and if a state can’t run an election, I think the people behind me should do something about it,” Trump directed towards Republicans at an Oval Office press briefing Tuesday.

The Constitution currently prevents federalizing elections, which are run by 10,000 separate jurisdictions across the country.

The president has no power to directly “take over” state elections and would need Congressional approval if he wanted to make any changes to the existing system.