On February 8, the US Supreme Court will hear former President Donald Trump’s appeal against the decision to ban him from the ballot. in the Republican primaries in Colorado. The Supreme Court announced this on Friday evening.
In December, the highest court in the state of Colorado ruled that Trump is unfit to be president because of inciting his supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. This was done on the basis of a rarely used amendment to the American Constitution, which was introduced after the American Civil War. The state of Maine also excludes Trump from participating in the Republican primaries for this reason.
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The nine-judge US Supreme Court that will now hear the case has a majority of six conservative judges, three of whom were appointed by Trump himself. Partly because of this, there is a good chance that the decision of Colorado’s highest courts will be overturned.
Colorado’s primary election is March 5, but the first ballots will be mailed out before the Supreme Court’s decision. If the Supreme Court upholds the decision to ban Trump, votes cast for him will not count.
Lawsuits in other states
Lawsuits are still ongoing in other states over Trump’s possible exclusion. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Colorado will also bring clarity to all those states.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung is pleased that the Supreme Court will hear the appeal and calls the attempts to exclude Trump from the election to the Reuters news agency “part of a well-financed effort by left-wing political activists determined to prevent Trump’s legal re-election in November.” even if that means depriving voters of their right to vote.”
Current President Joe Biden lashed out at Trump during his first major campaign rally on Friday, accusing him of “using the same language as Nazi Germany” and not shying away from political violence. “Trump and his supporters not only embrace it, they laugh about it.”