The way that America can prove it is done with Donald Trump and his decadent, hateful world is to vote against him in November 2024. Yet, Trump should not be allowed to run needless to say. He has violated the Constitution most specifically the Fourteenth Amendment. I never really cared much to consider this question until now. I only considered it when it was clear to me he is disqualified.
The Fourteenth Amendment states the following, in relevant part:
The language here is pretty clear. No person, it reads, “who, having previously taken as oath,” “shall be” “an officer of the United States if that person engages in an insurrection, they are disqualified. Trump engaged in insurrection after the election of 2020; he is disqualified.
The argument over the President of the United States being an “officer” was presented before the Colorado Supreme Court (CSC). This is court that was the first to kick Trump off the ballot. They made it clear the President is an “office” which means the President is an officer. After a careful detailed analysis of the issue, the CSC wrote that “‘the plain language of Section Three, which provides that no disqualified person shall “hold any office, civil or military, under the United States,’ includes the office of the Presidency.”
In addition, here is the oath of office of the President of the United States:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
The CSC also identifies a multitude of instances in the Constitution and in historical commentary and legal interpretations that identify the President as an “office” of the U.S. In fact, in the Presidential oath itself, the President of the United States the President is described as executing the office of the President of the United States. It is not possible it is not an office and that Trump, when he plotted to overthrow the government, was not an officer of the United States.
Now let’s add in the definition of “insurrection” to make it even more clear. Insurrection is defined as “the act or an instance of revolting especially violently against civil or political authority or against an established government.” Using this defintion, there is no argument Trump can make regarding the actions of January 6, 2021. His actions before January 6th and on January 6th led to the insurrection attempt on January 6th. He was an officer of the United States when he sought to overturn an election.
Other legal experts have weighed in on this issue and while their analysis differs, most of them believe the Fourteenth Amendment is pretty clear what it states. Even the Libertarian Cato Institute is very skeptical of Trump’s ability to not be disqualified. They assert that Chief Justice Roberts might push for a political solution which is not really the role of the Supreme Court.
Then there is the historical context. The Fourteenth Amendment was passed into law as a result of the Civil War. It was designed to address the issues presented by the Civil War. One of those issues was the fact that the South were insurrectionists and the leaders of the Union did not want those who had orchestrated the secession to ever take office in the U.S. That is the reason for Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment.
While it would be ideal to vote Trump down in November 2024, that appears to be uncertain now. Trump has millions of loyal supporters and probably millions of others who don’t believe January 6 was an insurrection at all. They believe the conspiracy theories.
However, considering the purpose of Section 3 it would derelict if the U.S. Supreme Court votes to allow him to remain on the ballot. Any free, democratic nation must stand on the rule of law. The U.S. has played too long with the rule of law in the modern era.
It would be wise for the country to stand on the rule of law this time and let the chips fall where they may. And considering this is a Court with three Trump appointees it would restore integrity to that institution which is itself almost out of chances to do the right thing under the law. Yes, we as a nation want to vote for our elected leaders. However, that comes with a caveat. If the person is not qualified for violating Section 3, they should not be allowed to ever become President.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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The post Trump Should Be Disqualified appeared first on The Good Men Project.