Donald Trump, former president of the United States and Republican candidate in the US elections, was disqualified this Tuesday from the Colorado presidential primaries. In an unprecedented ruling, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump is unfit to serve as president of the United States due to his actions that incited the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Trump was disqualified under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibits anyone involved in “insurrection or rebellion” from holding federal office. This was the first time Section 3 was used to disqualify a presidential candidate.
Here’s what Colorado’s disqualification means for Trump:
The Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling Wednesday applies only to Colorado. Furthermore, it only mentions the state primary elections on March 5, when Republican voters will choose their candidate for the presidency of the United States.
That means Trump might not appear on the Colorado ballot for that vote and could still run in other Republican primaries, The Guardian reported. The Colorado court ruling does not directly address the general election.
However, Colorado has temporarily stayed its ruling until January 4, which would allow the US Supreme Court to decide until then whether to take up the case, The Guardian reported.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign said it will appeal the Colorado ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
This would likely constitute a landmark case because: If the U.S. Supreme Court ruled “directly on Trump’s disqualification under the Constitution, its ruling would apply in all states, not just Colorado,” Bloomberg reported.
The report adds that, given the unprecedented nature of the case and the makeup of the court, “the justices are likely to overturn the Colorado decision.”
Could the ruling have an impact on the 2024 US elections?
Even if the ruling survives Supreme Court scrutiny, it could be irrelevant to the outcome of the November 2024 election. This is because Trump does not need to win Colorado and is not expected to, given his strong Democratic leanings. he told Reuters.
Colorado has nine of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Joe Biden won the state by more than 13 percentage points in the 2020 election. According to the BBC, Trump is well ahead of his Republican rivals and can therefore still secure his party’s nomination without competing. in Colorado.
Conversely, the BBC also reported that the Colorado case could have “broader implications for the general election.”
There are similar lawsuits seeking to block Trump from running in the 2024 election. Additionally, more similar cases may be filed in competitive states where Trump must win to prevail. If courts in the most competitive states follow the lead of Tuesday’s ruling, Trump’s 2024 White House bid could face serious problems.
“While none of these courts would be bound by the Colorado decision, the justices will likely study it carefully to reach their own conclusions,” Reuters reported.
So far, Trump has faced multiple 14th Amendment challenges in several states. Lawsuits citing the 14th Amendment were rejected by nine courts: in Michigan, by the Colorado district court (which led to the appellate battle there), and by the Minnesota Supreme Court, a Washington district court, and courts federal states of Arizona and Rhode Island. . , New Hampshire and Florida, according to reports.
Trump is currently the front-runner in the Republican Party’s nomination process to run for the White House in 2024. The Trump campaign has vowed to appeal the Colorado Supreme Court’s “flawed” ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The consequences
Apart from this, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has pledged to withdraw from the Republican primary in Colorado unless former US President Donald Trump is reinstated.
“I pledge to withdraw from the Colorado Republican primary unless Trump is also allowed to appear on the state ballot, and I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie and Nikki Haley do the same immediately, or they will tacitly support this illegal maneuver. which will have disastrous consequences for our country,” Ramaswamy wrote in X, criticizing his fellow candidates in the Republican presidential primaries.
Another prominent Republican presidential candidate, Chris Christie, said voters, not courts, should decide whether Trump should be “barred” from seeking re-election to the White House.
(With contributions from the agency)
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2023-12-21 17:43:15
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