Donald Trump's Colorado disqualification: Here's how the GOP reacted to unprecedented ruling
House speaker and other Republicans react to Colorado ruling to pull Trump off the state's ballot
The Colorado Supreme Court made history on Tuesday, December 19 when it disqualified former President Donald Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot for 2024. In a 4-3 ruling, the court declared that the GOP frontrunner is constitutionally ineligible to run in 2024 because the 14th Amendment’s ban on insurrectionists holding public office covers his conduct on January 6, 2021. However, the decision will be put on hold until January 4, awaiting Trump's appeal to the US Supreme Court, which could settle the matter for the nation. This decision marks the first-ever application of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to disqualify a presidential candidate in history. The Colorado court's decision has angered many GOP leaders, with some calling it ‘flawed.’ Here is a look at how the GOP reacted to the Colorado court's bold move to remove Trump from the 2024 ballot.
Nikki Haley
Addressing the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling, Republican candidate Nikki Haley remarked that "the last thing we want" is judges deciding who can and can't be on the presidential ballot. "I will tell you that I don’t think Donald Trump needs to be president. I think I need to be president. I think that’s good for the country," Haley told reporters after a campaign event at Corn Belt Seed Solutions. "But I will beat him fair and square. We don’t need to have judges making these decisions, we need voters to make these decisions,” the former South Carolina governor added.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy threatened to remove his name from the Colorado primary ballot until former President Donald Trump is reinstated following the historic ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court. The biotech entrepreneur stated on X, "This is what an actual attack on democracy looks like in an un-American, unconstitutional, and unprecedented decision, a cabal of Democrat judges are barring Trump from the ballot in Colorado." "Having tried every trick in the book to eliminate President Trump from running in this election, the bipartisan Establishment is now deploying a new tactic to bar him from ever holding office again: the 14th Amendment,” he added.
Ron DeSantis
Florida governor Ron DeSantis also supported the real estate mogul, tweeting, “The Left invokes ‘democracy’ to justify its use of power, even if it means abusing judicial power to remove a candidate from the ballot based on spurious legal grounds. SCOTUS should reverse.”
Mike Johnson
Following Trump’s ouster, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) denounced the ruling, calling it "nothing but a thinly veiled partisan attack." “Regardless of political affiliation, every citizen registered to vote should not be denied the right to support our former president and the individual who is the leader in every poll of the Republican primary,” Johnson wrote in a statement, adding he trusts the US Supreme Court will “set aside this reckless decision and let the American people decide the next president of the United States.”
Chris Christie
In a statement, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie echoed Haley’s remarks, saying voters, not the courts, should decide if Trump should be “prevented” from being reelected to the White House. “What I will say is I do not believe Donald Trump should be prevented from being President of the United States, by any court,” Christie said in a statement posted on Twitter. Christie declared that he did not think a court ruling keeping Trump off the ballot would be "good" for the United States. “I think it’s bad for the country if that happens,” the Republican candidate said, adding, “Now, the other reason I believe that is because, you know, he will have had to incite insurrection, be a part of an insurrection for him to be excluded. There’s been no trial of him on that.”
Ted Cruz
Sen Ted Cruz of Texas, who unsuccessfully challenged Trump in 2016, described the decision as "garbage" and foresaw an appeal to the US Supreme Court. “This ruling is garbage. This WILL be appealed to the Supreme Court & the Supreme Court WILL reverse it. To every Dem & media outlet saying “save Democracy,” this is a test: Will you denounce these partisan judges trying to PREVENT THE VOTERS from choosing the next President?” he wrote in an X statement.
Elise Stefanik
Similar criticisms were leveled by House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (NY), who said in a statement, "Four partisan Democrat operatives on the Colorado Supreme Court think they get to decide for all Coloradans and Americans the next presidential election." Declaring the ruling "unAmerican," Stefanik contended that Democrats are "illegally attempting" to remove Trump from the ballot because they "are so afraid" he would win the presidential election in 2024. Stefanik said this attempt will “backfire and further strengthen” Trump’s re-election campaign.
Matt Gaetz
Florida Rep Matt Gaetz also claimed that Democrats are "trying to imprison the party's chief political opponent." “Democrats are trying to imprison their chief political opponent and have now apparently succeeded at removing him from the ballot. This is what dictators do,” Gaetz wrote on X and expressed his confidence that the US Supreme Court would overturn the decision.
Marjorie Taylor Greene
Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, a conservative from Georgia, repeated the remarks made by her Republican colleagues, arguing the decision “stole the election” away from Colorado voters and “robbed” them of their right to vote for Trump. “This is an unprecedented First Amendment violation that must be struck down by the SCOTUS. This can not be allowed to stand,” Greene wrote on X.
Lindsey Graham
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also predicted that the decision will only boost Trump's favor among voters. “This only makes President Trump stronger because people see this as dangerously unfair. Liberals are afraid of Trump and it shows,” he tweeted.
