Is this the start of a snowball effect? The Maine Secretary of State on Thursday, December 28, excluded Donald Trump from the Republican primary in this state in the northeastern United States, a week after a similar decision in Colorado, due to the former president's role in the storming of the US Capitol from its supporters in 2021.
“He is unfit to serve as president” under the 14th Amendment, which excludes from public accountability those who have engaged in “acts of insurrection,” said Shenna Bellows, the Democratic secretary of the state of Maine, in an official document for organizing the elections.
Maine's decision will be challenged in court by Donald Trump, his campaign spokesman announced, and could be the subject of a final appeal to the United States Supreme Court, the highest court in the land.
Ms. Bellows has withheld her decision until this court system rules on the matter. “I do not make this decision lightly,” she wrote in her 34-page decision. “I am aware that no Secretary of State has ever denied a presidential candidate access to the vote based on Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. However, I am also aware that no presidential candidate has ever been involved in an insurrection,” she said.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers USA: Donald Trump not eligible to vote in Colorado
“Radical leftist”
Donald Trump quickly condemned a decision he said was made by a “radical leftist,” an “ardent supporter” of Joe Biden. “We are witnessing live an attempt to steal an election and disenfranchise American voters,” the Republican denounced his campaign team.
The Maine Republican primary is scheduled for Tuesday, March 5, 2024 and is called “Super Tuesday” due to the large number of polls from Democrats and Republicans that day.
Also read the editorial: The dilemma of the United States before Donald Trump
On January 6, 2021, hundreds of Donald Trump's supporters violently stormed the Capitol, the shrine of American democracy, to prevent the certification of the victory of his Democratic opponent Joe Biden. Donald Trump and his most ardent supporters are still disputing the results of the 2020 election without evidence.
The ex-president was indicted federally on August 1 and then by the state of Georgia on August 14 for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
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In various states across the country, several lawsuits have been initiated to block the big favorite's way into the Republican primaries. If Michigan and Minnesota rejected them, the Colorado Supreme Court last week became the first to declare Donald Trump ineligible for his actions during the attack on the Capitol.
Read also the analysis: Article reserved for our subscribers Trumpism: a real threat, an uncertain success