Can Trump run for president if convicted?
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Donald Trump could still run for president in 2024 if convicted of a crime. The 77-year-old will be at the Manhattan courthouse on Monday as jury selection begins at the start of the former president’s first criminal trial. Trump is accused of falsifying business documents related to the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels to keep their affair quiet ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump has been charged with dozens of crimes since last year, including the New York case, an election subversion case in Georgia and two federal cases — one over an attempt to overturn the 2020 election and one over the handling of classified documents after his first White House . term. If some cases develop, Trump could be convicted of a crime before the 2024 presidential election.
With nearly 100 criminal charges against the former president, critics and supporters alike have raised questions about whether Trump could still continue to seek America’s highest office with a felony conviction to his name. The short answer: Yes.
The Constitution places few requirements on who can run for president of the United States. Those seeking to hold this position must be 35 years old, a “natural-born” citizen of the United States, and have lived in the country for at least 14 years. However, no restrictions are mentioned on whether someone running for president has a criminal record.
Some states ban felons from running for state and local elections — but those laws don’t apply to national offices at the federal level. Trump still remains very popular among his supporters and is the de facto Republican candidate after winning most of the Republican primaries to date.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this summer will officially crown him the party’s nominee for the third consecutive election cycle. Some states are trying to override Trump’s ability to remain on the 2024 ballot.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump could not appear on the state’s presidential ballot under a provision of Clause 3 of the 14th Amendment, which states that those who are “guilty of insurrection or rebellion” after taking an oath to have sworn the constitution, cannot stand as a candidate.
But the conservative Supreme Court (6-3) rejected Colorado’s decision, claiming that states cannot decide which candidates can and cannot appear on the ballot for federal-level elections under this constitutional amendment. Several lawsuits allege that Trump’s actions before and on January 6, 2021 meet the bar for disqualification from office in the clause — but the 14th Amendment does not specifically refer to presidential office and the former president has not yet been convicted of federal insurrection level.
The last candidate to escape from a prison cell was Eugene Debs – more than 100 years ago. But the socialist had no real chance of becoming president, despite having been through the early 20th century five times and serving a six-month prison sentence the last time. Trump is the first candidate in American history who has a real chance of winning the presidency with a felony conviction, should at least one of the cases against him prove successful.
