The 14th Amendment of the United States prohibits anyone from holding office if they have “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion.” And a handful of states are examining whether that clause applies to Donald Trump and his attempted coup on Jan. 6, 2021. Yesterday, the Colorado Supreme court ruled that yes, Trump engaged in an attempted insurrection and, as such, is barred from being on the Colorado ballot. President Joe Biden agreed that yup, Trump is an insurrectionist. (Of course, this shouldn’t be controversial.)
For Trump, the decision is a serious blow to his “electability” argument, claiming he is best positioned to defeat President Joe Biden. A surprisingly large bloc of Trump supporters aren’t MAGA, though; they just want to win. If the U.S. Supreme Court green-lights keeping Trump off the ticket (a big if, admittedly), it would energize similar efforts in other battleground states, like Michigan (which is currently litigating the issue) and Wisconsin, where Democrats recaptured the Supreme Court this year. In all, 14th Amendment challenges to Trump’s candidacy are percolating in 16 states.
Republicans are predictably losing their minds, and some, like those in Texas, are threatening to boot Biden from their ballots. Unfortunately for them, Biden hasn’t engaged in any insurrections or rebellions, but sound logic isn’t their strong suit, of course.
Meanwhile, pressure is mounting for Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from all Trump election-related cases, this one included (when it is inevitably appealed), given Thomas’ glaring conflicts of interests—after all, his wife, Ginni, was a major figure in Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
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