The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that former President Donald Trump cannot run in the state’s elections. The court decided to remove Trump’s name from the ballot in Colorado, as he aims first to become the Republican Party’s presidential candidate and then seek re-election as US President on November 5, 2024. The decision, made by a vote of 4 to 3, cited the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution as the rationale.
The third section of the mentioned amendment specifies that any state or federal official who has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution cannot “engage in insurrection or rebellion against the state” and cannot “give aid or comfort to the enemies of the state.” The Colorado Supreme Court has postponed the implementation of the decision until next month when an appeal hearing is expected to occur.
It is anticipated that Trump will appeal this decision to the US Supreme Court, where the final verdict is expected to be delivered.
Colorado is currently a state where Democrats are almost certain to win. The last time Republicans won the state was in 2000 with George W. Bush. Democrats have emerged victorious in Colorado’s last four presidential elections. The primary danger for the former president, who is currently entangled in numerous legal battles, lies in the prospects of more court cases following Colorado’s lead and Trump’s exclusion from the states he needs to win.
For the first time in the United States, a decision has been made about this article of the Constitution, which involves removing from the ballot the name of a candidate who wishes to compete in presidential elections. Setting such a precedent can open a can of worms for the country’s democracy moving forward.
The former president and his loyal supporters assert that all these legal processes are stratagems devised by a deep-state structure to prevent Trump from accessing power because his policies disturbed the “globalists”.
During his tenure, the former president adopted an approach that diverged from traditional Republican standards. Trump’s ‘America First’ principle not only strained relations with US allies but also played a decisive role in shaping domestic policies by repeatedly challenging the limits of executive authority and often standing against the federal judiciary. He embraced a transactional foreign policy that aimed to achieve direct, short-term, and clear results, without concerning himself with Washington’s global role.
As a result, Trump led the country towards more isolation, eroding its role as a global leader. His decisions concerning NATO, NAFTA, the Paris Agreement, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership are cases in point.
Additionally, when American companies closed production facilities, laid off workers, and relocated operations abroad, Trump promised a 35% tax if they were to send those products back to the US market. These decisions soured his relations with many major companies, including United Technologies Corp, General Motors Co, and Ford Motor Co.
Therefore, many consider that there is a correlation between Trump’s legal processes and the policies he pursued during his presidency, which did not please influential stakeholders. Rather than being a ‘president trampling on the law,’ as implied by the decision of the Colorado Supreme Court, Trump is seen as someone who, due to his policies, is confronted by a deep-state structure. The latter used allegations of interference in the 2020 elections to prevent his return to the presidency.
However, the attempts to coerce him legally and shut him down electorally seem to have backfired. Trump is currently the strongest candidate. His most significant strategy is to play the victim card, and the victimhood strategy is very potent and counteracts any blame directed against him.
Consequently, Trump has more support than all other Republican candidates together. According to 538’s average of national polls, as of December 15, former President Donald Trump leads the primary race with 61 per cent. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley are tied for second place at 12 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively.
In a scenario where he would compete against Biden, polls give Trump as a winner. According to the latest WSF poll, the former president has 47% support, while Biden has 43%.
In the context of the 3rd paragraph referred to by the Colorado Supreme Court, Trump is associated with the January 6 insurrection. Evaluating the situation within the framework of Trump’s strong public support, it becomes clear that prosecuting Trump for the January 6 incident will not lead to a consensus in the public or among Trump’s supporters.
In an analysis of the January 6th Capitol protests, I examined 241 Facebook posts from Donald Trump’s account and 150 posts from Joe Biden’s account. When scrutinising the social media posts under the framework of the SCCT theory, I observed that Trump truly believed the election results were fraudulent. Still, at the same time, it is evident, under Coombs’ theory, that he did not manage the crisis effectively.
However, the prevailing belief is that the former president was subjected to injustice. The biggest challenge to win over Trump’s constituency is to prove that there was no election fraud on January 6, 2020, and then only judge Trump’s role three years ago.
A swift trial and conviction of Trump in the short term will only fuel apprehension among his constituency. Targeting a leader who has established such a strong base through a series of pre-election court processes can cause serious damage to American democracy. The bond between Trump and his supporters goes beyond typical political reasons such as ideological beliefs or grand economic plans; Supporters have established a deep emotional connection with their leader.
Therefore, the way to minimise the damage to American democracy is not through court processes preventing Trump from entering the election but rather through Democrats fielding a candidate who can win.
This article originally appeared in the opinion section of the Anadolu Agency.
