Court ruled that Trump is disqualified from the 2024 Republican primary ballot due to his role in the January 6 US Capitol riot, citing the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. The amendment restricts people who are "engaged in insurrection" from holding public office.
"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," Kennedy said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Kennedy said that although he is competing with Trump for the presidency, he wants to beat him "in a fair election, not because he was kicked off the ballot." Depriving a candidate of their right to run also deprives voters of their right to choose, Kennedy said.
Trump supporters will not accept 2024 election results if he is kept from office through the court system instead of through the electoral process, Kennedy said, adding that he hopes the court reverses its decision.
Fellow presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy also pledged to withdraw from the Colorado primary ballot unless Trump is allowed to run in the state and urged other Republican candidates to do the same.