In a watershed moment for former President Donald Trump’s campaign to return to the White House, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Monday that states may not remove the Republican frontrunner from their ballots.
Colorado leftists attempted to strip the 45th president from the state’s GOP primary ballot, but the high court emphatically cast that effort aside.
The justices wrote, “The judgment of the Colorado Supreme Court therefore cannot stand. All nine Members of the Court agree with that result.”
This action cast a tremendous roadblock against efforts by Democrats in many blue states to strip Trump from the ballots. It also marked the first time the high court considered the meaning and power of Article 3 of the 14th Amendment.
This Civil War-era statute barred those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office in the aftermath of the conflict. Challengers in more than 30 states attempted to commit election interference by filing to erase Trump from voters’ choices.
BREAKING: The Supreme Court *unanimously* sides with Donald Trump in Colorado’s effort to disqualify him from the primary ballot.
Terrible day for anyone who hates democracy.
“We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But States… pic.twitter.com/KTu904P4ue
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 4, 2024
But even the liberal wing of the bench did not buy their arguments.
The Court further wrote, “We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency.”
Trump quickly reacted on his Truth Social platform Monday. The 2024 Republican frontrunner posted “BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!”
The reaction by Colorado officials was noticeably more reserved. Secretary of State Jena Griswold issued a statement acknowledging the Supreme Court ruling against her authority to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
Griswold added, “In accordance with this decision, Donald Trump is an eligible candidate on Colorado’s 2024 Presidential Primary.”
The state previously argued that he should be barred from candidacy over “insurrection” allegations involving the Jan. 6 Capitol protest. Several others followed suit, prompting the high court to expedite weighing in on the controversy.
Justice heard vehement arguments last month from both sides. The consensus appeared to be that disqualification proceedings would become commonplace if Colorado’s decision were allowed to stand.
Chief Justice John Roberts concluded, “It would then come down to a small number of states deciding the election. That’s a pretty severe consequence.”
