The decision by Colorado judges appointed by Democratic governors comes just one month before the primaries for the 2024 elections.
Representatives, senators, presidential candidates, one by one, the heavyweights of conservatism rejected the ruling that prohibits Trump from being on that state’s card for his alleged participation in the assault on the Capitol.
“The Court’s ruling, which seeks to disqualify President Trump from the Colorado primary, is a thinly veiled partisan attack,” criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson.
“It’s blatant electoral interference,” criticized influential conservative legislator Steve Scalise. “We live in a democracy, not a banana republic,” added Republican Randy Weber.
Sidelined by a sector of his party after the chaos of January 6, 2021, the 77-year-old multimillionaire, whom Democrats are trying to hold responsible in an attempt to remove him from the electoral race, has undoubtedly regained Republican support, despite to his four criminal charges.
His rivals also support him
Even Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, one of Trump’s few rivals who can give him competition for the Republican inauguration, remained among his supporters.
The ruling in Colorado is based on “erroneous grounds” and should be “overturned by the Supreme Court” of the United States, DeSantis said Tuesday night.
The decision is on hold until January 4 to give the highest court a chance to make a decision by then.
Another rival of Trump and currently third in the polls, Nikki Haley, also added her support. “We don’t need judges making those decisions, we need voters,” the candidate told reporters at an event in Iowa.
In less than a month, this state begins the ballet of the Republican primaries for which Trump is the clear favorite.
Since the beginning of the campaign, both DeSantis and Haley have avoided attacks against the former president to avoid offending his base, which is still quite loyal to him.
“To have a chance of winning, they must rally a large number of Trump supporters, something they can’t do by attacking Trump,” explained political scientist Larry Sabato.
DeSantis and Haley do not reject the former president’s arguments that he has denounced that he is the subject of a “witch hunt” orchestrated by Joe Biden to prevent him from being his potential rival.
Biden accuses Trump
Candidate for re-election, Biden generally avoids commenting on the legal cases brought against Trump by the Department of Justice, led by his administration, which does not act with the same belligerence in the accusations against Biden’s son, Hunter Biden for alleged corruption.
But on Wednesday, Biden toughened his tone, saying his predecessor “certainly supported an insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump is the front-runner in the Republican primary race, and national polls show him with leads over Biden.
“Every issue I fight is the work of the Department of Justice and the White House,” Trump replied on his Truth Social network, anticipating the type of exchanges both men will have in 2024.
2024, an extraordinary year
Between the primary days and the trials, there is no doubt that the United States is getting ready to live an extraordinary year from every point of view, with comings and goings between courts and political rallies.
So far, for the Republican, a possible stint in jail has not been ruled out, nor a return to the White House, unusual situations that Trump has taken advantage of.
With each turn of his court cases, Trump has so far managed to raise exorbitant sums and climb in the polls, thanks to his supporters convinced that he is the victim of a political cabal.
His team did not wait to campaign on the Colorado ruling, which he will however challenge before the Supreme Court in Washington, and since Tuesday he saturated his followers with requests for donations.
“Interestingly, the Colorado court has probably strengthened Trump,” said Professor Sabato. “The more he perceives himself as a victim of an unjust, liberal establishment, the more likely he is to unite Republican voters,” the University of Virginia professor predicted.
Source: With information from AFP
