By joining the ranks of states that have barred Donald Trump from running in 2024 due to the riots in the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, Maine further muddied the 2024 election and cast doubt on the constitutionality of his candidature.
Following a comparable decision from the Colorado Supreme Court earlier this month, the action by the Maine secretary of state exacerbated a mounting crisis for Trump’s campaign and provided more justification for the US Supreme Court to consider the matter, which stems from the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban.” It may further deepen existing divisions in the country and has already made the chaos surrounding the election worse.
With Iowa’s Republican nominating contest set to begin on January 15 and other crucial ballot dates approaching, the growing uncertainty requires a resolution immediately. Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows of Maine has put off making a judgement until the Trump campaign has announced its intention to launch an appeal in state court.
This decision was made on the same day as Trump’s rising New Hampshire opponent, Nikki Haley, attempted to prevent her mistake on slavery from derail her campaign.
Slavery was the underlying cause of the nation’s disintegration over 160 years ago; it is unbelievable that a presidential candidate running in 2023 cannot openly admit this.
Trump, who has caused countless scandals and outrages during his gravity-defying political career, is currently facing less scrutiny due to the drama surrounding the former South Carolina governor. This is happening just three weeks before the election, and many of these scandals are connected to the 2020 election denialism that has been causing his legal troubles to spiral out of control.
Given that Trump refuses to concede loss and has historically challenged the legendary US transfer of power, the extraordinary legal and political maze that surrounds the 2024 campaign has only grown as a result of Maine’s choice. Considering that an unprecedented situation has never before existed, two states have now determined that a previous president participated in a rebellion against the United States government.
Nevertheless, the dispute has also brought up fresh concerns regarding the justification of measures to hold Trump accountable for January 6. Some argue that it is necessary to safeguard America’s democracy from a particularly dangerous threat, while others worry that it could backfire politically next autumn, hurting President Joe Biden and the Democrats. Despite his potentially disastrous anti-democratic behaviour in 2020, Trump’s appeal among base voters has increased due to the several criminal indictments he is facing.
In an interview with “AWN This Morning” on Friday, Republican presidential contender Chris Christie called the former president a “martyr” due to his behaviour in states like Maine and Colorado.
Although some may argue that there is a legitimate reason to do so, our democratic system cannot tolerate such behaviour. Someone who is prepared to tell it like it is and defeat Donald Trump at the polls is what he really needs, he added.
“The right to vote is fundamental”
The Constitution required Bellows to exclude the Republican front-runner from the ballot, she said in her conclusion, since the circumstances were so bizarre.
“I am not easily convinced,” Bellows stated. “Democracy is vital… I am cognizant of the fact that no Secretary of State has ever, in accordance with Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment, denied a presidential contender the right to vote. But I’m also cognizant of the fact that no presidential contender has ever plotted an uprising.
The former president’s staff retaliated, and Trump himself demanded that the nation defend the very fundamental American right—the power of the people to elect their president—that he had sought to undermine three years before.
“We are witnessing, in real-time, the attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter,” expressed Trump’s campaign. “In their attempt to immediately remove President Trump’s name from the ballot, Democrats in blue states are irresponsibly and unconstitutionally suspending the civil rights of the American voters.”
This accusation is full of rich irony given that Trump has repeatedly tried to disenfranchise voters, even in crucial swing states that went to Biden, and that he is now denying the outcome of the 2020 election. Several judges rejected Trump’s baseless accusations of voter fraud, and his administration has since denigrated them. Despite this, he continues to centre his 2024 campaign on them, using them as a springboard to accuse Biden of the same election tampering that Trump committed.
The shocking news from Maine broke just hours after an exclusive AWN story exposed new information about the former president’s involvement in the 2020 presidential election. Kenneth Chesebro, an adviser to Trump, allegedly stated that the Trump campaign “freaked out” over the mailing of fraudulent elector votes just days before Congress was supposed to confirm the election’s outcome. After then-Vice President Mike Pence declined to join a plot to recognise Trump as the legitimate president, hasty preparations were made to bring them to Washington on January 5 to support the plot.
The new information casts doubt on Trump’s most recent and absurd legal argument – that his frantic attempts to remain in office actually constituted a legitimate exercise of presidential authority to safeguard voters following an electoral fraud.
Haley struggles to maintain campaign stability
On Thursday, another unusual controversy—over Haley’s refusal to explicitly state that slavery was the cause of the US Civil War—emerged alongside the ever-expanding echo chamber of Trump’s 2020 behaviour.
Unflattering critiques that have followed Haley throughout her career, such as the idea that she has frequently equivocated about the facts of history in order to advance her political agenda, have been revived by her gaffe and her somewhat awkward attempts to rectify it.
Since the controversy occurred on her first event back on the campaign trail following her Christmas break, it serves as a reminder of the scrutiny that accompanies a presidential campaign. It also gives her opponents an opportunity to suggest that she isn’t prepared for the biggest political stage. Her remarks may not matter much in heavily Republican races, but they could hurt her chances of attracting independents in New Hampshire who could join the GOP primary and help her close the gap with Trump. It is a point of national pride for New Hampshire to have sent Civil War battalions to battle for the Confederacy.
Competitors of Haley’s attempted to take advantage of her unease. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who was embroiled in a dispute earlier this year regarding the state’s school curriculum’s treatment of slavery, stated that she “is not a candidate that’s ready for prime-time.”
“She has a tendency to give in the moment she is made to feel uncomfortable,” he remarked.
To further justify his decision not to withdraw from the race, Christie used her problems as leverage. I will simplify things for you. In response to the question, “What led to the Civil War?” I would say… “It’s slavery, plain and simple,” Christie declared Thursday when visiting New Hampshire. I’ve been pretty fair with Nikki, although I must admit, she’s rather intelligent,” he chimed in. Because she is ignorant, she did not say what she stated last night and today regarding this. Her answer is no. She has more intelligence than that.
The similarities and differences between Haley’s problems and the Trump legal quagmire
Trump’s legal quagmire and Haley’s problems illustrate the contemporary Republican Party.
The move by Haley to avoid discussing the glaring historical consequences of slavery seemed to be an effort to win over conservative conservatives inside a party that has taken a sharp rightward turn in recent years. In a same vein, she has been reluctant to publicly challenge Trump over his 2020 effort to undermine US democracy, presumably to save those voters who have believed the former president’s lies regarding the election.
Although Trump’s team is challenging his ballot disqualifications, his legal shadow is growing and Haley’s anguish is far from finished.
The Colorado Republican Party has previously invoked the 14th Amendment to contest the judgement of the state supreme court to exclude him from the ballot.
The “atrocious” ruling was to be blocked from taking effect in Maine by the Trump campaign, which promised to swiftly launch a lawsuit in state court.
When confronted with Trump’s behaviour, Bellows insisted she could disqualify him.
She announced her duties as an oathkeeper, stating, “The oath I swore to uphold the Constitution comes first above all,” and that her job, according to Maine’s election regulations, is to verify that the candidates listed on the primary ballot are eligible to run for office. According to Bellows, the challengers provided strong proof that the coup on January 6 was “ordered” by Trump, and the US Constitution “does not permit an attack on the very basis of our government.”
Michigan and Minnesota were among the states that rejected comparable initiatives before Colorado. Additionally, the former president was included in a certified list of candidates that was provided Thursday night by the secretary of state of California. Despite the fact that the US Supreme Court has been politically battered in recent years, it is practically required to intervene due to the fact that various states now hold differing views on Trump’s eligibility to run again and the Constitution.
The justices will be presented with two crucial questions. First, the president’s eligibility for office in light of the constitutional prohibition on insurrectionists. Second, there will be a lot of pressure on the highest court to decide whether it’s enough for one state to declare a candidate an insurrectionist without providing them with a fair trial.