2024-02-08 17:15:40
The US Supreme Court is analyzing, this Thursday (8), whether Donald Trump will be able to contest the November presidential election. He is accused of involvement in the attack by his supporters on the Capitol, in Washington, on January 6, 2021. The consequences of the decision, if Trump becomes ineligible, are unpredictable, analyzes French political scientist Laurence Nardon, from Sorbonne University.
Published on: 02/08/2024 – 18:15
3 min
The nine judges will discuss whether Trump’s name can appear on Colorado’s Republican presidential primary ballots, which could impact his eligibility at the federal level and exclude the tycoon from the campaign. The decision should only be announced within a few weeks. “If the Supreme Court decides that Trump cannot contest the election, it will be a blow to the presidential campaign,” says the French researcher in an interview with RFI.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in December that the former president, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, must be excluded from the ballot. The verdict was based on the 14th amendment to the Constitution, the third paragraph of which prohibits anyone from holding public office if they have participated in an “insurrection or rebellion” after promising to defend the Constitution.
What would be the consequences if the Court rules that Trump can no longer hold public office? “Many observers say: we can’t make that decision, because in that case all Trump voters would take to the streets and that would trigger a ‘general insurrection’,” says Laurence Nardon.
“Maybe I don’t have a crystal ball, but the USA is a country with healthy institutional foundations, despite the polarization of recent years, which led to unusual acts for an old democracy”, he assesses.
Trump, 77 years old, appealed to the Supreme Court to try to overturn the Colorado decision and similar proposals in twenty other states, which intend to remove his name from the elections. The conservative-majority court includes three judges appointed by Trump during his administration. Traditionally, the Court is reluctant to get involved in political issues, but this year it was forced to make a statement.
“Of the 9 judges, six are conservative and three were appointed by Trump. So we can imagine that everyone will vote in favor of him. But a judge votes according to the law. Perhaps what Trump didn’t understand is that the judges he appointed have lifetime positions, so they won’t necessarily reciprocate the appointment”, says the French political scientist.
Effective storytelling
“Trump has great charisma among his base of allies. Every time he has a problem he accuses the State, he says he is a victim of a witch hunt. This narrative works very well. That’s why he continues on the political scene”, he assesses.
In addition to the Colorado case, the court could also hear an appeal from Trump against a lower court ruling that, as a former president, he does not have immunity from criminal prosecution. The tycoon could be tried on conspiracy charges for trying to change the result of the 2020 elections.
(RFI and AFP)
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