Former President Donald Trump said he will challenge the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove him from the state’s Republican primary ballot for the 2024 presidential election.
The court ruled on Thursday that Trump did not meet the constitutional requirements to run for president, as he was impeached twice by the House of Representatives and acquitted by the Senate, as reported by Politico on Thursday, December 21, 2023
The court said that the Senate’s acquittal did not nullify the House’s impeachment, and that Trump was therefore disqualified from holding any federal office.
Trump denounced the ruling as a “political witch hunt” and a “disgrace to democracy”.
He said he will appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, and urged his supporters in Colorado to “stand up for your rights and your freedom”.
“This is a rigged system that is trying to stop me from running again, because they know I will win in a landslide,” Trump said in a statement.
“The people of Colorado deserve to have a choice in 2024, and I will not let them down.”
The Colorado ruling is the latest setback for Trump, who has been facing multiple legal troubles since leaving the White House.
He is under investigation for his role in inciting the January 6th Capitol riot, his business dealings in New York, his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, and his tax returns in Florida.
Trump has also been struggling to maintain his influence over the Republican Party, as some of his allies have distanced themselves from him or faced censure from their own party.
Trump has vowed to campaign against any Republican who voted to impeach him or who does not support his false claims of election fraud.
However, Trump still enjoys strong support from his loyal base, and has hinted at running for president again in 2024.
He has been holding rallies in key states, such as Iowa and New Hampshire, and has raised millions of dollars for his political action committee.
Trump’s campaign and the Colorado Republican Party have been in talks to coordinate their response to the court’s ruling.
Clayton Sandell, a senior adviser to Trump’s campaign, said they are confident that the ruling will be overturned or stayed, and that Trump will be on the ballot in Colorado.
“We are working closely with the Colorado GOP to ensure that President Trump’s rights are protected and that the voters of Colorado have a fair and free election in 2024,” Sandell said.
Kristi Williams, the chairwoman of the Colorado Republican Party, said she hopes that Trump will visit the state soon to rally his supporters.
She said that Colorado Republicans are eager to see Trump run again, and that he is the best candidate to defeat President Joe Biden and his agenda.
“I certainly expressed to Clayton you know, Colorado Republicans would love to see [Trump] come out so that they can, you know, give them a good show of support.
And I’m sure he’ll go ahead and pass that on to the president,” Williams said. “We would welcome him to come out but we understand if he needs to focus on Iowa.”
Biden, who won Colorado by 13 points in 2020, has argued that a second Trump administration — and the MAGA movement as a whole — are a threat to democracy.
And Trump has provided a fair amount of fodder.
The former president has continued to spread lies about the 2020 elections, repeatedly downplayed the insurrection and recently said that he would be a dictator for a day if elected, if only to pass immigration and drilling policies.
Biden’s campaign spokesman, Andrew Bates, said that the Colorado ruling shows that Trump is unfit to be president, and that the American people rejected his divisive and dangerous leadership.
“Donald Trump is a failed and disgraced former president who has no place in our democracy,” Bates said.
“He lost the election fair and square, and he should accept the verdict of the voters and the courts.”
