Court excludes Donald Trump from primaries – even Democrats are surprised that Frenchman buys a supposedly worthless mask – and then auctions it off for 4 million euros

Leading Republicans reacted with outrage on Tuesday to a ruling by the highest court in the US state of Colorado that would disqualify Donald Trump from next year’s elections. Speaker Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House of Representatives in Washington, called it a “thinly veiled partisan attack.” And Nikki Haley, perhaps Trump’s fiercest opponent, said, “We don’t need judges to make these decisions.” We need voters to make these decisions.”

However, Trump himself initially did not comment on the voting ban, which the judges of the western state decided by a vote of 4 to 3. During a relatively short appearance in Iowa, the presidential candidate did not say a word about the verdict. (Instead, Trump again railed against migrants who are “poisoning the blood of our country.”) Meanwhile, his campaign staff announced in a written statement that they would appeal to the nation’s highest court.

Constitutional amendment from 1868

The heart of the Colorado ruling, a veritable legal lightning bolt, is the third paragraph of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Since 1868, the country has ruled that officials who participated in an uprising are no longer allowed to run for state office. (Eight people have been barred from elections over the past 155 years because of this passage.)

Opponents of Trump, backed by left-wing activists and interest groups, see this somewhat awkwardly worded paragraph as the ideal way to disqualify Trump from the 2024 presidential elections. They claim that the then president was part of an uprising against state power almost three years ago. On January 6, 2021, Trump supporters in Washington tried to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election – after being incited by the president-elect.

The Colorado Supreme Court now shares that view, after courts in Michigan and Minnesota previously rejected that argument. The court in Denver also found it proven that the corresponding passage in the Constitution also applies to presidents – even though the highest state office is not explicitly mentioned.

In their ruling, the four justices referred to the history of the 14th Amendment, which was adopted after the end of the Civil War (1861-1865). The authors were driven “by a sense of betrayal,” as the leadership of the seceded Southern states consisted of former American officials. The decisive factor is therefore not the position of the official, but the fact that he violated his oath to the constitution, according to the ruling.

All eyes on the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court temporarily stayed the ruling to give Trump time to appeal to the highest court in the land: the Supreme Court in Washington. The registration deadline for the Colorado primary is January 4, 2024, with the primaries scheduled for early March. It can therefore be assumed that the Supreme Court will soon have its say.

What was striking about the first reactions on Tuesday was that some Democrats also reacted with discomfort to the verdict. Perhaps this was the literal implementation of the Constitution, it was heard. But ultimately, the only person who will benefit is Trump, who has long claimed that his political opponent will do everything in his power to prevent him from running for office again. (aargauerzeitung.ch)