President Joe Biden joined Colorado Supreme Court justices who found he engaged in an “insurrection” against the nation in their surprise ruling that knocked him off the state ballot.
That finding was a key element of Tuesday's stunning legal decision that found that Trump, by violating his oath of office and engaging in “insurrection and rebellion” against the country, is disqualified from voting under the 14th Amendment after the civil War.
Biden, Trump's 2020 opponent, generally stayed out of the legal thicket in a case in which Trump and even some of his Republican rivals allege an “abuse of power,” saying Trump had in fact incited an insurrection.
'I think it goes without saying. You saw it all,” Trump told reporters as he stepped off Air Force One on a trip to Milwaukee, a key political battleground where he defeated Trump in 2020 but Trump's forces alleged fraud.
He made a point of walking up to the press to answer questions – something he doesn't always do.
President Joe Biden approached reporters and said former President Donald Trump 'supported an insurrection'
Biden decided to address the issue that has stoked a political fire in Washington, even as, as far as Trump is concerned, he and his aides sometimes try to avoid issues involving the Justice Department and the courts.
But he won't wade into some of the ruling's key technicalities: whether Trump counts as an “officer” of the US in a passage that doesn't specifically mention the president, or whether an individual state should be able to take action that could have far-reaching consequences for the electoral process across the country.
“Whether the 14th Amendment applies, I'll let the court make that decision,” Biden said.
“But he certainly supported an uprising. There's no doubt about it. No. Zero.' Then Biden added of his rival: “He seems to be doubling down on everything.”
Biden said Trump “certainly” supported an insurrection
Former President Donald Trump attends a rally on the Ellipse on January 6, 2021, ahead of the attack on the Capitol. His role in the “insurrection” and his attempt to overturn the 2020 election render him ineligible to serve, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
Supporters of former President Donald Trump breached the Capitol on January 6, interrupting the joint session of Congress that was certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory
The Colorado court, by a majority of four of the seven justices, made the finding of insurrection a key part of the voting test. She did this by agreeing to a lower court ruling.
It found that the court “did not err” when it found that January 6 constituted an “insurrection.”
This was done by quoting Trump's January 6 speech in which he told a crowd on the Ellipse to “fight like hell,” ruling that it was not protected speech under the First Amendment. That cut short another of Trump's arguments that his comments that day, shortly before a mob stormed the Capitol as Congress was meeting to count electoral votes, were protected speech.
Trump's comments, as well as an elaborate scheme involving “fake voters” and other efforts to overturn the vote, are part of the indictment filed by special counsel Jack Smith in federal court in the District of Columbia.
The Supreme Court must also consider that case and determine whether Trump's scheduled March 4 trial date can go ahead.
Biden's comments echoed spot analysis from several prominent Democrats, including former impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who taught constitutional law and is the top Democrat and Republican foe on the House Oversight Committee.
“If the (Supreme) Court takes its statement of faith in original intent and textualism at all seriously, then it will have to affirm the ruling,” Raskin said. “Its original meaning… is precisely to ban people who have betrayed their oath by attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.”
Republicans see the ruling as a call to ban Biden from the vote in their states in retaliation.
“Remove Biden from the Florida ballot now!” wrote Anthony Sabatini, a Republican House candidate in Florida and a former state representative there.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for Biden to be kicked out of his state's race over the border crisis. Newsweek reported. “When I see what happened in Colorado, I think — in addition to the fact that we believe in democracy in Texas — maybe we should get Joe Biden off the ballot in Texas because he's allowed eight million people to cross the border since he's been president and has disrupted our state,” he said. commentary on Fox News.