The Colorado Supreme Court in the United States of America made history yesterday with an unprecedented, freeze-in-your-tracks ruling that former President Donald Trump is constitutionally ineligible to run in 2024 because the 14th Amendment’s ban on insurrectionists holding public office covers his conduct on January 6, 2021.
The four-three decision removes Trump from the Republican primary ballot in Colorado, which is scheduled for Super Tuesday in early March. However, the Colorado justices paused their ruling so Trump can appeal to the US Supreme Court, which could even preserve his spot on the state’s primary ballot if the appeal isn’t settled quickly.
In many ways, the landmark ruling holds Trump accountable for trying to overturn the 2020 election and provides a political punishment for his anti-democratic behaviour. The ruling is also a massive vindication for the liberal groups and constitutional scholars of all stripes who championed such 14th Amendment lawsuits despite their long odds.
But Trump has mastered the art of converting legal setbacks into polling bounces. He’s already in a stronger position today to beat President Joe Biden than he was one year ago, before he was criminally indicted in four jurisdictions. And he and his GOP allies kicked into high gear Tuesday night, playing the victim card and railing against the ruling.
With the stunner coming out of Colorado, the dynamic has shifted. Trump is now on the losing side of the case, and he needs the nation’s top court to restore his spot on the ballot. That means he’s going to be asking the US Supreme Court – with its conservative supermajority, and with three justices he appointed – to keep his campaign alive.
“This is an extraordinary and unprecedented holding,” said Derek Muller, an election law expert at Notre Dame Law School who filed a brief in the case that provided legal analysis of the key questions at hand but was neutral on Trump’s eligibility.
“It puts Trump’s entire election campaign in serious legal jeopardy,” he added. “And the Supreme Court will be asked to hear this election-altering case, something I’m sure it has little appetite to hear.”
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