Published December 22, 2023
The Democrat party is reportedly worried about former President Donald Trump’s chances of winning the 2024 presidential election — and top Democrats keep hoping to take out Trump another way than via the ballot box.
Democrats worry about Trump’s reelection prospects due to his sustained strength when directly challenged. Polling shows Trump’s popularity remains high, despite constant attacks:
- Russia hoax
- Two impeachments
- Indictments
- Efforts to keep Trump on state ballots
“Once again, Democrats find themselves looking toward American institutions to stop Mr. Trump, whom they view as a mortal threat to democracy, the New York Times’
“Donald Trump thrives on negativity, he thrives on legal systems that try to hold him accountable, and I’m convinced that his polling numbers are going to go up,” Luntz told host Pamela Brown.
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SOURCE: www.breitbart.com
RELATED: Newsom warns efforts to keep Trump off California ballot could be ‘political distraction’
Published December 22, 2023
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) warned efforts to prevent former President Trump from getting on the ballot in his state could be a “political distraction” Thursday.
“There is no doubt that Donald Trump is a threat to our liberties and even to our democracy,” Newsom said Friday in a statement, which was first reported by Politico. “But, in California, we defeat candidates at the polls.”
“Everything else is a political distraction,” he added.
His comments come after California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis said the state should look into “every legal option” to remove Trump over 14th Amendment concerns.
While some efforts to keep the former president off primary ballots have failed — including challenges in Michigan and Minnesota — one state was successful in its effort to bar Trump over his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday removed Trump the state’s Republican primary ballot under the 14th amendment’s “insurrection clause” in a 4-3 ruling. The high court concluded that the former president had engaged in an insurrection by inflaming his supporters with false claims of election fraud and directing them to the Capitol.
Kounalakis suggested the ruling was inspiration to try to launch her own challenge in the Golden State, appealing to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber (D).
“Based on the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling … I urge you to explore every legal option to remove former President Donald Trump from California’s 2024 presidential primary ballot,” Kounalakis wrote to Weber (D).
“This decision is about honoring the rule of law in our country and protecting the fundamental pillars of democracy,” she added.
Under the insurrection clause, anyone who has taken an oath of office is prohibited from engaging in an insurrection or rebellion against the U.S. government. The Colorado Supreme Court determined Tuesday that the clause does cover the office of the president.
“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” the state Supreme Court wrote in its decision. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”
Like Newsom, activists and other Democrats have shown caution around the recent Colorado ruling.
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SOURCE: www.thehill.com
RELATED: The 14th Amendment plan to disqualify Trump, explained
The Trump campaign has accused advocates of ‘stretching the law beyond recognition’
Published December 21, 2023
A longshot legal bid in multiple US states to disqualify Donald Trump from the 2024 US presidential ballot has pulled off a shock victory in Colorado.
The strategy involves trying to block Mr Trump from the primary ballot by invoking a rarely used provision of the US Constitution – Section 3 of the 14th Amendment – that bars those who have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the country from holding federal office.
Initially backed by liberal activists, the theory gained more prominence in recent months as some conservatives also embraced it.
The Colorado Supreme Court was the first to side with the theory, ruling this week that Mr Trump be removed from the state’s 2024 presidential ballot.
It is the first time that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.
Several attempts in other states to kick Mr Trump off the ballot have failed until now.
Critics have warned that, if such cases move forward, it risks robbing voters of the right to deliver their own verdict on whether the former president should return to the White House.
Its ultimate arbiter will likely be the conservative Supreme Court that Mr Trump helped shape.
What is the theory?
The 14th Amendment was ratified after the American Civil War, and Section 3 was deployed to bar secessionists from returning to previous government posts once southern states re-joined the Union.
It was used against the likes of Confederate president Jefferson Davis and his vice-president Alexander Stephens, both of whom had served in Congress, but has seldom been invoked since.
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SOURCE: www.bbc.com
