After the shocking and unprecedented ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court to bar former President Donald Trump (R) from the state primary election, the other Republican presidential candidates have condemned the decision from the Centennial State's highest court.
The state supreme court used the 14th Amendment which states that candidates can be withheld from running for office if they "have engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the United States.
The 14th Amendment was originally designed to keep former Confederate officers from obtaining power in the Union government.
According to Ballotpedia, the Colorado Supreme Court is the 16th most liberal court in the United States. It does not have a single right-leaning justice. All justices are either considered an “Intermediate,” a “Mild Democrat,” or a “Strong Democrat.”
Furthermore, Justice Monica Márquez became the first Hispanic woman and openly gay justice for the state supreme court in 2011.
Candidate for President Vivek Ramaswamy (R) went as far as to say he would withdraw from the Colorado primary if President Trump doesn’t appear on it as well.
I pledge to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary ballot until Trump is also allowed to be on the ballot, and I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley do the same immediately - or else they are tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver which will have disastrous… pic.twitter.com/qbpNf9L3ln
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 20, 2023
“I pledge to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary ballot until Trump is also allowed to be on the ballot, and I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley do the same immediately - or else they are tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver which will have disastrous consequences for our country,” said Ramaswamy.
Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis (R-FL) reposted a video from Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) of a bunch of bananas dancing – alluding to a banana republic – and mentioned that the Supreme Court should reverse this case.
The Left invokes “democracy” to justify its use of power, even if it means abusing judicial power to remove a candidate from the ballot based on spurious legal grounds. SCOTUS should reverse. https://t.co/D4pCzZ7FhY
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 20, 2023
“The Left invokes ‘democracy’ to justify its use of power, even if it means abusing judicial power to remove a candidate from the ballot based on spurious legal grounds. SCOTUS should reverse,” said Gov. DeSantis.
President Trump himself called it a banana republic in an all-caps rant on Truth Social.
BIDEN SHOULD DROP ALL OF THESE FAKE POLITICAL INDICTMENTS AGAINST ME, BOTH CRIMINAL & CIVIL. EVERY CASE I AM FIGHTING IS THE WORK OF THE DOJ & WHITE HOUSE. NO SUCH THING HAS EVER HAPPENED IN OUR COUNTRY BEFORE. BANANA REPUBLIC??? ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!
Donald Trump Truth…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) December 20, 2023
“BIDEN SHOULD DROP ALL OF THESE FAKE POLITICAL INDICTMENTS AGAINST ME, BOTH CRIMINAL & CIVIL. EVERY CASE I AM FIGHTING IS THE WORK OF THE DOJ & WHITE HOUSE. NO SUCH THING HAS EVER HAPPENED IN OUR COUNTRY BEFORE. BANANA REPUBLIC??? ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!” said Trump.
Additionally, former South Carolina Governor and presidential candidate Nikki Haley (R-SC) mentioned that she would “beat him fair and square.”
"I will tell you that I don’t think Donald Trump needs to be president. I think I need to be president. I think that’s good for the country," Haley told reporters after a campaign event at Corn Belt Seed Solutions, according to the Des Moines Register. "But I will beat him fair and square. We don’t need to have judges making these decisions, we need voters to make these decisions."
Finally, former New Jersey Governor and presidential candidate Chris Christie (R-NJ) said that the voters should prevent Trump from becoming President, not the court.
Donald Trump should not be prevented from being President by any court. He should be prevented from being President of the United States by the voters of this country. pic.twitter.com/77ChhLFkFz
— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) December 20, 2023
“Donald Trump should not be prevented from being President by any court. He should be prevented from being President of the United States by the voters of this country,” said Gov. Christie.
The Colorado GOP said they would change the electoral process to a caucus if President Trump cannot appear on the ballot, effectively allowing him to run in the state again.
