Trump banned from Colorado primary
The Supreme Court of Colorado has disqualified former President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot. The judges ruled that Trump’s role in the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 violated the constitution, which states that no public official may participate in an insurrection against the state. What consequences will this have for the election campaign and outcome?
A provocation for a large group of voters
Keeping Trump out of the White House by legal means is risky indeed, Jutarnji list observes:
“Part of the media and the entire US left are delighted with this new strategy: sue Trump on the same basis in all 50 states and make his path to the presidency as difficult as possible. ... But this political-legal tactic harbours a great danger: it could provoke an unprecedentedly harsh retaliation from the right-wing political spectrum. The political minority is trying to influence the outcome of the election through the legal system, while the right, which is currently the majority, is not at all interested in whether the Democratic Party voters are in theory right.”
The decision will be made in the voting booths
This court ruling alone won’t prevent Trump from becoming president, Dagens Nyheter stresses:
“The decision in Denver was made by a majority of one vote. But the judges there are quite liberal compared to those in Washington. If you’re pinning your hopes on the clearly conservative majority in the Supreme Court excluding Trump from next autumn’s election, you’re grasping at straws. He must be beaten in the voting booths. Everything else is just a pipe dream.”
Other candidates waiting in the wings
Adevărul says there could be surprises in store:
“We’ll have to wait and see what the US Supreme Court justices decide to determine whether or not this will fundamentally change the direction of next year’s elections. However, the meaning of Joe Biden’s message when he said a few days ago that he would consider withdrawing from the race for the Democratic nomination if Trump didn’t run can now be deciphered. The consequences are almost impossible to calculate and open up completely new perspectives for the presidential race with second- or third-option candidates who currently have ‘zero chances’ against Trump and Biden.”
Possibility of special action by a special party
The Republicans could also nominate Trump directly, says Telegram:
“For Trump, the risk that a chain reaction triggered by the Colorado Supreme Court ruling will cause him to lose the Republican primaries is greater than the risk of him losing the presidential election. ... A party is a private organisation, and this particular Republican Party is so dependent on Trump that it can’t be ruled that the leadership will decide to suspend the primaries, call a convention and simply declare Trump the nominee without a vote, just as kings were once proclaimed by the grace of God. ... Didn’t their candidate already say that he wants to become a dictator?”
