SAUL LOEB / AFP
Donald Trump during a meeting in Virginia, March 2, 2024
UNITED STATES – A stunning victory for Donald Trump. The Supreme Court of the United States made this Monday, March 4, a crucial decision for the 2024 presidential election. The Republican candidate now has an almost straight line to run against Joe Biden again next November. Explanations.
Colorado authorities decided last September that Donald Trump could not run for president again because of his incitement to violence during the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2020. The Colorado Supreme Court then declared him “ineligible” and demanded that his name be removed from the ballot.
A decision that the United States Supreme Court has just overturned, saying Colorado cannot decide this “alone.” Without limiting the outgoing Republican president's actions on January 6, 2021, the nine justices hold that only Congress, not a state, has the authority to remove a candidate from the presidential election ballot. Donald Trump, the favorite of the Republican primaries, immediately cheered: “A great victory for America!!!” on his network Truth Social.
The minefield of Donald Trump's actions
During the February debates, most of the nine justices, regardless of their orientation, were careful not to enter the minefield of Donald Trump's actions in storming the Capitol. However, they emphasized the legal obstacles and potential consequences of upholding Colorado's decision.
The latter was based on the 14th Amendment of 1868, which targeted supporters of the Southern Confederacy, which was defeated in the Civil War (1861-1865). It bars from the highest public office anyone who has committed “rebellion” after taking an oath to defend the Constitution.
“Because the Constitution gives Congress, not the states, the responsibility to enforce Section 3 (of the 14th Amendment) against federal officials and candidates, we reverse the Colorado decision,” the nine justices said in their unanimous decision.
Around thirty states, including Colorado and Maine, have launched ineligibility appeals against Donald Trump. They now have no chance of success because this decision applies to all states.
This decision comes on the eve of “Super Tuesday,” when 15 states, including Colorado, will simultaneously organize their primaries for the November presidential election.
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