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During a closely watched hearing on Thursday, Supreme Court justices discussed both sides’ arguments. Trump had turned to the court to overturn a ruling by the state of Colorado that disqualified him from participating in the 2021 primaries due to his role in the 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

Trump wants to stand again as a candidate for the Republicans in the American presidential elections in early November. Anyone who wants to run as a presidential candidate must achieve victory in the party’s internal primaries. Plaintiffs have been trying for some time in several states to prevent Trump from participating in the primaries and to have the 77-year-old’s name removed from the ballots. The judges took advantage of the appointment on Thursday to ask a variety of questions about the arguments of both sides. A ruling from the Supreme Court is not expected until a later date.

Trump’s attorney Jonathan Mitchell has made clear before the nation’s highest court his demand that his client not be barred from the highest office in the state. The Constitution’s so-called insurrection clause only applies to appointed and unelected officials such as presidents, he argued. The clause essentially states that no person shall hold a higher office in the state who has previously participated as a civil servant in an uprising against the state.

Although the passage gives some examples of such higher offices, it does not explicitly mention the office of president. Mitchell also said Congress would first have to pass legislation to make the insurrection clause take effect.

The background to the dispute is the unprecedented attack on the US House of Representatives, almost exactly three years ago: Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. Congress met there to formally confirm Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. Trump had earlier incited his supporters during a speech with baseless claims that the election victory had been stolen from him through massive fraud.

Based on these events, plaintiffs in several American states have also been trying for some time to have Trump’s name removed from the ballots for the presidential primaries.

Opponent Jason Murray said Trump had clearly disqualified himself by participating in an insurrection. There is no reason to believe that the 14th Amendment does not include the president. The relevant passage in the law is deliberately formulated in broad terms. The states are empowered to ensure that the votes of their citizens are not ‘wasted’ on a candidate who is constitutionally barred from holding office.

(hah/sda/dpa)