- Trump's rivals joined him in rejecting the ruling
- Nikki Haley said she wants to win “fair and square.”
- DeSantis called the ruling an abuse of judicial power
Donald Trump's Republican rivals joined him in condemning a Colorado court's decision to disqualify the former president from the 2024 presidential election – with Nikki Haley saying she wanted to beat him “fair and square.”
None of his major rivals took advantage of the court's “defiant” determination, which pointed to Trump's Jan. 6 speech and ruled that he should be barred from the ballot under a clause in the 14th Amendment for those who ” have been guilty of insurrection or rebellion'. 'contrary to their oath.
“I will tell you that I don't think Donald Trump needs to be president. I think I should become president. I think that's good for the country,” Haley said after a campaign stop in Iowa, not long after the ruling came down Tuesday evening.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said she wants to win “fair and square” after a Colorado court ruling that would disqualify Trump from the state ballot
'But I'll beat him fair and square. We don't need judges making these decisions, we need voters making these decisions.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is second in polls to Trump in Iowa, has condemned the move on the X platform.
“The Left invokes 'democracy' to justify its use of power, even though it means abusing the judiciary to remove a candidate from the ballot on spurious legal grounds,” DeSantis said. wrote.
He retweeted a message from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) calling the decision “lawless abuse.”
Even former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has targeted Trump in New Hampshire and was among the most willing to bash his former ally during presidential debates, gave the decision a poor review.
He said Tuesday that he had not yet read it and was still processing the opinion.
But he said at a campaign rally: “I do not believe that Donald Trump should be prevented by any court from becoming president of the United States,” NBC reported. “I think the voters of this country should prevent him from becoming president of the United States,” he said.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also denounced Colorado's decision
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.
The explosions reflect how, in several seemingly dangerous legal twists during the campaign, Trump has been able to take advantage of the moment and weave his criminal charges and defenses in civil lawsuits into what he calls a “witch hunt” against him.
The Trump camp tried to put political pressure on rivals on Tuesday evening, with one official asking if they “stand with activists and Democrats.”Do you want to take President Trump's name off the ballot? Or do they want free and fair elections?'
Trump's legal team is expected to immediately file an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Colorado Supreme Court found “by clear and convincing evidence” that Trump participated in an insurrection as defined by the Fourteenth Amendment.
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.
“The sum of these parts is this: President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three; because he has been disqualified, it would be an unlawful act under the election law if the secretary were to list him as a candidate in the presidential primaries,” the court ruled.
Trump's intraparty rivals found ground well within the party's base.
“Every time Trump has spoken negatively about the justice system, it has been like rocket fuel for Republican voters because it reinforces his core message that he is (and has been) treated unfairly since he came on the scene,” the Republican said. analyst Scott Jennings.
“Republicans see this the same way they saw the two impeachments, the indictments, the Russia investigation and all the rest – just another attempt by elites and Democrats to prevent Trump and his voters from getting a fair shake in the election.” ,” he added.