According to a report by Raw Story published on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, CNN anchor Boris Sanchez dismantled the arguments put forth by Jay Ashcroft, the long-term Republican Secretary of State of Missouri, who had threatened to remove President Joe Biden from the 2024 presidential election ballot.
Ashcroft cited the removal of Trump from the ballot by Colorado and Maine as justification for his threat, claiming that two elected Republican politicians had accused Biden of “insurrection.”
During the interview on CNN, Sanchez wasted no time in challenging Ashcroft’s claims, stating, “You think that when the Supreme Court takes this up, they are going to side with President Trump, is that correct?”
Ashcroft, pausing to gather his thoughts, responded, “They are going to side against people being thrown off the ballot in this sort of manner.”
Sanchez then fact-checked Ashcroft’s assertion by mentioning that the Colorado case was brought by GOP and independent voters, not Democrats
In an attempt to defend his position, Ashcroft tried to invoke the catastrophic consequences of allowing such extrajudicial means of removing candidates from the ballot, stating that if Democrats can do it, Republicans will, and vice versa.
Sanchez, however, redirected the conversation back to the Missouri state constitution, explaining that to remove President Biden from the ballot, Ashcroft would need to go to court, as specified in Section 115-387 of the state constitution.
Despite this fact, Ashcroft refuted Sanchez’s statement, claiming, “No, not at all.”
Sanchez, undeterred, reminded Ashcroft of the Colorado case, where the state had gone to court to disqualify Trump from the ballot.
He stressed that according to Missouri’s constitution, going to court would be the necessary course of action.
Ashcroft, dismissing Sanchez’s knowledge and qualifications, tried to evade the issue by accusing him of not knowing what happened in Colorado.
Sanchez firmly replied, “I know what happened in Colorado,” and reiterated that he hadn’t read all the evidence but was following the constitutional process outlined in Missouri.
He then asked Ashcroft about his strongest argument for removing Biden from the ballot, a question Ashcroft avoided by accusing Sanchez of spreading false information.
Throughout the interview, Sanchez continuously pressed Ashcroft for evidence to support his allegations of Biden’s involvement in the insurrection.
Ashcroft cited allegations made by the Lieutenant Governor of Texas and the governor of Florida but failed to specify the details of these allegations when pressed by Sanchez.
The anchor demanded specifics, asking, “Insurrection over what? What did the Lt. governor of Texas say that Joe Biden was causing an insurrection over?”
Ashcroft’s inability to provide substantial evidence further undermined his claims.
Sanchez called out Ashcroft for making baseless accusations without backing them up and even questioned whether Ashcroft was afraid of the truth
