Looks like Donald Trump is intent on screwing up his 14th Amendment case
All along I’ve cautioned everyone not to get too excited about the prospect of Donald Trump being removed from the 2024 ballot. I said that even if state courts did rule that Trump was disqualified under the 14th Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court would still have the final say – and what are the odds of them getting it right?
Sure enough, now that Colorado and Maine have ruled that Trump is disqualified in 2024, he’s appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. So now we get to find out what the likes of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh are going to do. But here’s the thing. If they’re looking for Trump to hand them an excuse to rule in his favor, he’s not exactly making it easy for them.
Trump’s arguments in the case thus far are some of his most legally incoherent yet. Trump appears to be arguing that the 14th Amendment can only disqualify someone from holding office, not from seeking office. So what would that even look like? Trump gets to remain on the ballot, but if he wins, he doesn’t get to take office? I believe the proper legal term for that would be “LOL.”
So maybe it’s possible that Donald Trump is going to screw up this 14th Amendment case so badly that even this Supreme Court can’t figure out how to side with him. Maybe he really will come off the ballot in some states. Again, keep in mind that for the most part, the only states that would end up removing Trump are the kinds of blue states where he’d have gotten zero electoral votes anyway. So this isn’t likely to tilt the election at all. Trump’s criminal trials, which will put him in prison, are far more likely to impact the election. But if we can get him off the ballot in some states in the meantime, I’ll gladly take it. Why not?
