In a 4-to-3 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court has removed Trump from the 2024 primary ballot. This action was taken using the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause, citing his role as president in 2021 in inciting the January 6 Capitol protest in DC.
This ruling has unleashed intense outrage among the Republican camp.
"The decision by the Colorado Supreme Court to remove Trump from the ballot is banana republic nonsense," tweeted GOP Rep. Mike Waltz from Florida. "Clearly, the Left is desperate after Biden’s nosedive in the polls," he added.
Rep. Mike Waltz
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"The 'pro-democracy' party at work. How ridiculous," echoed House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Rep. Jim Jordan (X screen)
For her part, Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, another member of the House Freedom Caucus, which is largely seen as pro-Trump, condemned the court's move calling it "extreme judicial activism that is designed to suppress the vote and voices of hundreds of thousands of Coloradans, which is absolutely unacceptable."
Boebert added in her tweet that she is confident the US Supreme Court "will remedy this horrible decision."
Lauren Boebert (X screen)
The Colorado Supreme Court's recent maneuver has left US legal observers bewildered. Former Federal Election Commissioner Hans von Spakovsky has criticized the action as, "badly judged, banana-republic election interference".
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley noted that he views the opinion as "strikingly anti-democratic in what it now allows states to do in blue and red states alike."
Jonathan Turley
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Commenting on the issue in an interview to Fox News, Turley opined that "the factual and legal basis of this opinion is really so porous that the Supreme Court will make fast work of it."
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, a US conservative watchdog, expressed concerns about the "brazenly partisan" and "unprecedented" move: "The Democratic Colorado court majority opinion is an assault on the US Constitution, Colorado and federal law, free and fair elections, basic due process, and the fundamental rights of tens of millions Americans."
Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy made an announcement on X pledging to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary ballot until Trump is also allowed to be on the ballot.
"I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley do the same immediately - or else they are tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver which will have disastrous consequences for our country," Ramaswamy highlighted.
Vivek Ramaswamy (X screenshot)
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Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is now polling higher than any independent in a generation, also lashed out at the Colorado Supreme Court:
"Trump blocked from the ballot in Colorado. When a court in another country disqualifies an opposition candidate from running, we say, 'That’s not a real democracy.' Now it’s happening here," tweeted RFK Jr. "I’m not a Trump supporter (if I were, I wouldn’t be running against him!) But I want to beat him in a fair election, not because he was kicked off the ballot. Let the voters choose, not the courts!" he stressed.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr (X screen)
Some netizens suggest that the Democratic Party's incessant ploys to oust Trump from the ballot, which involve smear campaigns, investigations, and trials, are only boosting the former president's popularity.
"Colorado banning Trump from the ballot won’t just win him the primary, he’s now going to carry the state in the general," one X user predicted.
JD Sharp (X screen)