By a margin of just one vote, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump should be disqualified from the 2024 presidential election and removed from the state’s ballot in the upcoming primaries. The decision is based on the provisions of the American Constitution. Section three of the 14th Amendment prohibits persons who participated in the “rebellion” from holding office. And Donald Trump became the first presidential candidate in history to be disqualified precisely because of this rule.
“It was not easy for us to come to such conclusions. We are mindful of the scale and importance of the issues facing us now. “We are also mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law without fear or favor, and not to be influenced by public reaction to the decisions we make under the law,” the Colorado Supreme Court said in its decision.
The Colorado court explained its decision by Donald Trump’s role in inciting violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The ex-president himself spoke to his supporters in Iowa during the verdict. He called the court’s decision unfair. And he blamed everything on his main Democratic opponent.
“No wonder crooked Joe Biden and far-left lunatics are desperate to stop us by any means necessary. They are willing to violate the Constitution on a level never seen before in order to win this election. Joe Biden is a threat to democracy. He is a threat. They are using law enforcement as a weapon to interfere in elections at the highest level because we are beating them so badly in the polls,” Donald Trump said.
The Trump campaign has already announced that it will appeal the case to the Supreme Court, calling the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision “flawed” and “undemocratic.” And some of the ex-president’s associates and his competitors in the primaries suggested boycotting the midterm elections in Colorado.
“I promise to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary until the Trump name is cleared,” said Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. “And I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie and Nikki Haley do so.” same thing, otherwise these Republicans will simply be complicit in this unconstitutional attack. And I refuse to be complicit in this.”
Former White House ethics chief Richard Painter told Voice of America that, in his opinion, the Colorado court decision does not contradict the US Constitution. However, the Supreme Court may have a different opinion.
“The Supreme Court can overturn the decision of the Colorado Supreme Court. And to say we don’t agree that this is a valid interpretation of section three and Donald Trump remains on the Colorado ballot, Painter says, the Supreme Court could go in the other direction and say that’s not the only reason to interpret section three , and that they correct the interpretation so that Donald Trump can be voted on in all 50 states. And third, the Supreme Court of the United States could rule that each state decides what is best for itself.”
But history professor Adrienne Lentz-Smith does not believe that the Supreme Court of America will support the decision of the Colorado court. After all, Trump was never convicted for the events of January 6.
“In some ways, it’s a pretty compelling argument that a man who incited an insurrection against the United States should not be allowed to run for President of the United States. But his lawyers insist he was not convicted,” says Lentz-Smith.
Colorado became the first state to rule against Trump. Previously, similar lawsuits were filed in Minnesota, Michigan and New Hampshire, but failed. Now the floor is up to the US Supreme Court, where conservatives make up a confident majority, including three justices appointed by Trump. The court must announce its verdict by January 5.
