“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof...."
Late yesterday, December 19, the Colorado Supreme Court dropped its bombshell decision that this amendment bars Donald Trump from appearing on the state's 2024 presidential primary ballot on March 5. "We do not reach these conclusions lightly," the seven justices noted. "We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us."
And Trump didn't take them lightly. Minutes later, he dropped another fundraising missive:
Patriot,Trump has never been a fan of Colorado's political system. Back in April 2016, before he became the surprise Republican frontrunner in that year's presidential race, he complained that Colorado's process was “crooked” and “rigged,” and that “the people of Colorado had their vote taken away from them by phony politicians.” That was after delegates at the Colorado Republican Party's convention gave all 34 votes to Ted Cruz. “Biggest story in politics," Trump said.
State Supreme Court judges ALL appointed by Democrats just REMOVED my name from the 2024 ballot in Colorado.
The Soros-funded Democrats who incited the lawsuit will immediately use this tyrannical ruling to challenge us in the remaining 49 states.
Crooked Joe and the Democrats know they can’t beat us at the ballot box, so their new plan is to nullify every single “Trump ballot” in the nation to keep Biden in the White House.
Make no mistake: WE WILL APPEAL THIS DECISION IMMEDIATELY.
We will take this fight all the way to the UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.
Before that, Colorado's biggest story about Trump had been a spat between then-wife Ivana Trump and girlfriend Marla Maples during an Aspen ski trip. Coming in second: Trump's failure to be chosen to redevelop Union Station; his bid was deemed "non-responsive."
There's been plenty of response to the Colorado Supreme Court's "historic decision," which was fast-tracked after Denver District Judge Sarah Wallace determined that while Trump had indeed "incited" the January 6, 2021, insurrection, the presidency was not a position that fell under the "officer of the United States" category; as a result, Trump could appear on the state's presidential primary ballot. Both the plaintiffs and Trump appealed that ruling.
In their 4-3 decision, the Colorado justices accepted Wallace's view of Trump's actions on January 6, but determined that Amendment 14 did indeed prohibit Trump from appearing on the ballot.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold — who, as the chief elections official of the state, was named as a defendant in the original case — quickly issued her own statement after the decision: "The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump is barred from the Colorado ballot for inciting the January 6 insurrection and attempting to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election. This decision may be appealed. I will continue to follow court guidance on this important issue."
Because the Colorado Supreme Court rightly assumed that its decision would be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, it's being held in abeyance until January 4, one day before Griswold must finalize the primary ballot. Currently, her office notes, "No candidates have qualified for the presidential primary ballot in Colorado," though many have come close, and a handful — Trump included — have even anted up the $40,000 that the Colorado Republican Party requires or taken the cheaper route of half that amount as well as an appearance in the state. The other Republicans who jumped over the hurdles by the deadline: Ryan Binkley, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson, Vivek Ramaswamy (who, in a bit of good news, says he will withdraw if Trump is left off), and write-in Rachel Hannah "Mohawk" Swift.
If the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the Colorado Supreme Court's decision, that gives the state some Republican options — all of whom are required by the state party to share on social media how excited they are to be running in Colorado.
There's "rigged," and then there's just ridiculous.
So far, Colorado is the only state to throw Trump off the ballot. Six others have rejected similar requests; a dozen more have considered the idea, then dropped it. But the Colorado case — initially filed by four Republicans and two unaffiliated voters, not the "Democratic henchmen" cited by Trump — moves on.
