As I wrote last month, Democrats continue their attempts to block former President Donald Trump from running in 2024, as they are afraid that American voters could put him back in power. Their chief strategy, evident in the multiple criminal indictments against him, is to use the courts to stop him.
The latest example of this is a lawsuit filed Wednesday by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) in the more left-leaning neighboring state of Colorado to block Trump from appearing on the 2024 ballot, citing the 14th Amendment.
The 14th Amendment, which includes the Section 3 “insurrection clause,” argues that “no person” who swore an oath to protect the Constitution that “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” is eligible to run for office. When the amendment was ratified in 1868, the goal was to prevent actual Confederates from running for office.
It’s no surprise that Democrats believe Trump is already guilty of both insurrection and rebellion, arguing the Constitution prevents him from even appearing on the ballot.
“We aren’t bringing this case to make a point, we’re bringing it because it is necessary to defend our Republic both today and in the future," CREW President Noah Bookbinder said in a statement.
Democrats agree.
“I think it is a valid argument,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, said in an interview on MSNBC on Sunday, arguing the “insurrection” description of the clause “fits Donald Trump to a T.”
“I think there's a powerful argument to be made,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) agreed in an interview on Sunday.
Anti-Trump Republicans are even joining Democrats in their 14th Amendment argument.
“This is something that could disqualify him, under our rules and under the Constitution,” former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson warned Republican voters during last week’s debate. An anti-Trump Republican in New Hampshire has already filed a complaint in court to keep Trump off the ballot.
Trump is almost celebrating their attempts, warning supporters of his enemies trying to interfere with the election.
“[I]t is just another ‘trick’ being used by the Radical Left Communists, Marxists, and Fascists, to again steal an Election that their candidate, the WORST, MOST INCOMPETENT, & MOST CORRUPT President in U.S. history, is incapable of winning in a Free and Fair Election,” he posted to social media on Monday.
Of course, Trump’s interpretation of the clause will not stop activists from pushing forward the lawsuits, especially if they are well-funded by nervous, wealthy Democrats. Surely one or two states will try to keep Trump off of the ballot, prompting the legal case to escalate to the Supreme Court before the first primary is held.
Will the Supreme Court allow Trump to stay on the ballot? Thankfully, the Constitutional originalists are now in the majority on the Supreme Court making it more likely they will rule that voters and Democracy — not leftist activists in the courts — will decide whether Trump gets another shot as president.
