The US Supreme Court upholds Donald Trump's victory and places him on the 2024 primary ballot
After the Colorado Supreme Court declared that Trump was ineligible for the state's primary and prohibited from running for president again, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that he could be on this year's ballot.
Donald Trump received a major assist on Monday from the US Supreme Court, which ruled that he may continue to appear in Colorado's Republican primary. The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which states that anybody who has participated in an insurrection cannot hold public office, was used by the state's highest court to try to remove him off the ballot.
In a desperate attempt to rig the 2020 presidential election—which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden—Trump has been charged with inciting and supporting the violent mob that stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The Supreme Court's decision thrilled the former president, who wrote, "HUGE WIN FOR AMERICA!!!" on his Truth Social platform.
Supreme Court halts state attempts to remove Trump from the presidential race
The 14th Amendment, which stipulates that no one can hold US office, including the presidency, if they "have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof," also puts an end to similar attempts in other states, like Illinois and Maine, to remove Trump from the ballot. This is made impossible by the Supreme Court's decision.
The conservative-majority Supreme Court, however, 6-3, made it clear that Congress alone has the power to apply this clause to federal officeholders and candidates. "We conclude that states may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office," the court wrote in an unsigned ruling. However, the Constitution does not grant states the authority to execute Section 3 with regard to federal posts, including the presidency.
The decision was made the day before Super Tuesday, when the majority of states have their caucuses and primaries for president. In connection with his efforts to sway the results of the 2020 election, the 45th US President is also being prosecuted in two separate criminal proceedings, one in a state court in Georgia and the other in a federal court in Washington, DC. He has insisted that the prosecution is conducting a politically driven witch hunt in order to thwart his reelection campaign and denied any wrongdoing.