Conservative firebrand Vivek Ramaswamy vowed to withdraw from the Colorado Republican primary race,which takes place on March 5,unless Trump’s name was restored.
And former governor Chris Christie,Trump’s most outspoken critic,told voters in New Hampshire:“I do not believe Donald Trump should be prevented from being President of the United States by any court. I think he should be prevented from being President of the United States by the voters of this country.”
The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision,brought on by a lawsuit filed by six Republican and unaffiliated voters backed by the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics,only bars Trump from having his name on the Republican presidential primary ballot in that state,but does not discuss the broader presidential election in November.
Other states – such as Minnesota,New Hampshire and Arizona – have also considered and dismissed similar lawsuits.
It’s now possible that courts in more crucial states could follow suit and also exclude him from their ballots,further inflaming tensions in a divided country where many Americans still believe the 2020 election was stolen.
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The decision is therefore significant,marking the first time a presidential candidate has been disqualified from being on a ballot due to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The provision – enacted during the Civil War but never fully tested since – disqualifies from public office anyone who swore to defend the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the US.
To that end,it is a stinging rebuke for the president’s actions over the US Capitol riots that took place on January 6,2021,in which several people died and more than 100 police officers were seriously injured.
Whether Colorado’s decision sticks is yet to be seen. If Trump appeals,the federal Supreme Court will probably take up the case and,as long as the matter is being litigated,the former president’s name will remain on the Colorado ballot.
But the predominant school of thought is that it’s highly unlikely a US Supreme Court dominated by conservative judges – three of whom were appointed by Trump himself – would ultimately disqualify a former president and frontrunner for the White House.
What’s more,Trump has never been convicted for inciting an insurrection. Even special counsel Jack Smith stopped short of charging him after a months-long investigation that led to Trump being indicted for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Nonetheless,America once again finds itself in uncharted waters as it heads towards an election that will play out as much in the courtroom as it will on the campaign trail.
Trump has no less than four criminal trials on the horizon:one in Florida over his handling of classified documents;another in New York over alleged hush money payments;one in Georgia for allegedly trying to subvert Joe Biden’s electoral college victory in that state;and one in Washington DC for attempting to overthrow the 2020 election results.
His civil fraud trial in New York also concluded this month with a decision expected at the end of January,and his second defamation trial against E. Jean Carroll begins next month,the day after the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses.
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Now,the Supreme Court may be forced to intervene in another case that could redefine the contours of the 2024 election – and maybe,yet again,it could end up working in Teflon Don’s favour.
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