The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday barred former President Donald Trump from running for office in 2024 from the western US state, a historic ruling that could be struck down ahead of next year’s polls.
Shortly after the decision was announced, reactions poured in from all corners, including from Democrats, Republicans, and other legal experts. Here is a look at the decision and what it means for the former US president and frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination. Will it hurt or possibly help Trump?
Firstly, What does the ruling Say?
A 4-3 majority of the top Colorado court ruled that Trump is disqualified from appearing on the state’s ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which bars anyone engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” from holding federal office.
A lower court judge previously ruled that Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, during a violent attack on the US Capitol by his supporters amounted to insurrection but stopped short of disqualifying him, saying Section 3 does not apply to presidents. The Colorado Supreme Court paused its own ruling pending review by the U.S. Supreme Court, which Trump said he would immediately seek.
READ MORE: Understanding the 14th Amendment of US Constitution Used to Bar Trump from Office
Will the decision stand?
The case involves a host of unprecedented legal issues related to Section 3, which was passed in the aftermath of the Civil War and has rarely been tested. It is not clear how the Supreme Court would rule, but it is dominated by a conservative majority that includes three Trump appointees.
That was a top concern for the dissenting justices in the 4-3 Colorado decision, who said the majority’s ruling would strip Trump of one of his most basic rights without adequate due process. They noted that Trump has not been convicted of insurrection by a jury and did not have the right to subpoena records or compel witnesses to testify in the case.
How could the ruling impact the election, if at all
Even if the ruling manages Supreme Court review, it could be inconsequential to the outcome of the November 2024 election because the GOP frontrunner does not need to win Colorado and is not expected to, given its strong Democratic leanings.
Colorado has nine of the 270 electoral votes required to win the presidency. Biden won the state by more than 13 percentage points in the 2020 election. But similar lawsuits could be filed in competitive states that Trump must win to prevail, and while none of those courts would be bound by the Colorado decision, judges will likely study it closely while reaching their own conclusions.
Will Trump benefit politically?
Some US media reports said Trump has “mastered the art of converting legal setbacks” into polling bounces. The former US President is 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, according to CNN.
The US broadcaster said Trump and his GOP allies will play “the victim card” and railing against the ruling. On Tuesday, Trump’s campaign decried the court decision as “undemocratic.” “The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court,” a campaign spokesperson said. He and his allies have criticised disqualification cases in Colorado and several other states as undemocratic and part of a conspiracy by his political rivals to keep him out of office.
(With agency inputs)
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