The U.S. Supreme Court has just handed Donald Trump a significant victory on Monday as he campaigns to regain the presidency, rescinding a judicial decision that had exempted him from Colorado’s ballot under a constitutional provision involving insurrection for inciting and supporting the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
The justices had unitedly reversed a December 19 decision by Colorado’s top court to remove Trump off the state’s Republican primary ballot on Tuesday, after finding that the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment eliminated him from holding public office again.
Trump is the leading contender for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President, Joe Biden in the upcoming November 5 election in the U.S. His one remaining rival for his party’s nomination is former South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley.
An overjoyed Trump had taken to his social media platform immediately after the ruling to post the words:
“BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!,”
The 14th Amendment’s Section 3 excludes from office, any “officer of the United States” who took an oath “to support the Constitution of the United States” and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
The Supreme Court justices found that only Congress can impose the provision against federal officeholders and candidates.
Trump’s eligibility had been challenged in court by a group of six voters in Colorado (four Republicans and two independents) who presented him as a threat to American democracy and were looking to hold him accountable for the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.
This ruling is coming on the eve of Super Tuesday, the day in the U.S. presidential primary cycle when the major states hold party nominating contests.
As lawsuits looking to disqualify Trump popped up nationwide, it became important for his candidacy to remove any hurdles in order to be able to appear on the ballot in all 50 states.
