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 the former president off the 2024 ballots because they determined he ¨engaged in insurrection. ¨

I’m certain most people remember the capitol riot that took place on January 6, 2021, in rebellion against current President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 elections. 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 Trump 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 Trump 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. While others would argue that he did not participate in the riots I would have to strongly disagree. While yes he was not directly participating in the riot, he made it much worse with his words. He participated in the sense of arousing an even bigger uproar. It is clear he was a leading cause for things to finally go over the edge and turn into a riot. Someone this careless and corrupt should not be allowed on the ballot. For the first time in history the people are standing up and deciding to call out a former president on his actions and violations of multiple rules. They are setting forth a reform for change in the political system of the United States. I believe what we really need to ask ourselves is; do we really want such a reckless and irresponsible person on our ballot? Trump has continually put the country at risk and maybe this will finally be for the last time. And while there were pros to his presidency, such as lower costs, the cons outweigh the