In a twist of fate, Donald Trump’s critics are using the words of Justice Neil Gorsuch himself to argue that he should be disqualified from running for president in 2024.
Gorsuch, appointed to the Supreme Court by Trump in 2017, wrote a 2012 opinion while still a federal appeals judge that said states have the authority to remove ineligible candidates from the ballot. Now, Trump’s critics are citing that opinion to argue that he can be kept off the ballot because he participated in the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
“Gorsuch’s own words come back to haunt him,” said Fred Wertheimer, founder of Democracy 21, a nonpartisan watchdog group that is suing to keep Trump off the ballot. “He said states have the power to remove candidates who are ineligible, and Trump’s participation in the insurrection clearly makes him ineligible.”
Trump’s supporters, of course, argue that Gorsuch’s opinion was written in a different context and does not apply to Trump. They say that deciding whether someone participated in an insurrection is too complicated for election officials to do, and that it would be a dangerous precedent to set to disqualify a candidate based on such allegations.
“This is a partisan attempt to silence a popular president,” said Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller. “The voters, not the courts, should decide who is fit to be president.”
The legal battle over Trump’s eligibility is likely to wind its way up to the Supreme Court, where Gorsuch himself will have a say in the matter. It’s a case that could have major implications for the 2024 election and beyond.
Conclusion
Donald Trump’s critics are citing Justice Gorsuch in their fight to keep him off the 2024 ballot. Gorsuch’s 2012 opinion that states can remove ineligible candidates from the ballot. Trump’s critics are citing this opinion to argue that states can keep Trump off the ballot because he participated in the January 6th insurrection. Trump’s supporters argue that deciding whether someone participated in an insurrection is too complicated for election officials. The Supreme Court is likely to decide the case.
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