It is well known across the United States that former president Donald Trump has said he’s running for president again in the upcoming 2024 elections, but what if he is prohibited from holding office again? What if his past actions prevent him from doing what he has been wanting to do since he lost the 2020 elections?
The states of Colorado and Maine decided back in December 2023 to leave former president Donald Trump off of the 2024 ballots in accusation that he ¨engaged in insurrection. ¨. As most remember, following Trump’s loss that year he sent out a series of tweets accusing ¨millions of people¨ of voting illegally and even saying Biden cheated to win. It is clear by his behavior that he was astonished and deeply upset by his loss. It has been seen time and time again that Trump’s followers and supporters are very loyal, so naturally if their leader believes something, so do they. While the supreme court has said it is not fair to only apply the rules to others and not Trump, they are still on the fence about the situation. To this I would have to disagree.
Additionally, what he did back in 2020 following the elections is, in my opinion, a violation of the Constitution. Section 3 of the 14th amendment prohibits anyone who ¨engages in insurrection¨ from holding office and that is exactly what Trump did. He used his platform to provoke more anger to what was already there in the republican party. As better put by a Maine Judge, Trump used a ¨…false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters. ¨ He angered his party to the point of a capitol riot. He has also constantly used his platform to say things he shouldn’t, even when he was president.
For example, less than a week ago, on February 11th of this year Trump said at a rally at Coastal Carolina University that Russia can, ¨…do whatever they want¨ and went on to encourage Russia to attack any NATO allies that have not paid their bills. This is just one example of the multiple times he has spoken without thinking of the consequences. Not only is this statement putting the United States at risk, but other countries as well.
I believe what we really need to ask ourselves is; do we really want such a reckless and irresponsible person on our ballot?
