President Biden said Wednesday that former President Donald Trump “certainly supported an insurrection,” but it was up to the courts to decide whether it should disqualify him from running for president.
The president was responding to the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision late Tuesday to remove Mr. Trump from the state’s primary ballot because he violated the Constitution’s clause barring insurrectionists from holding office.
“I think that’s self-evident,” Mr. Biden told reporters in Milwaukee when asked if Mr. Trump is an insurrectionist. “He certainly supported an insurrection. There’s no question about it. None. Zero. He seems to be doubling down on everything.”
The Colorado court ruled 4-3 to remove Mr. Trump from the ballot over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The majority said that Mr. Trump engaged in insurrection by inflaming his supporters with false claims of election fraud and urging them to march to the Capitol where lawmakers were attempting to certify Mr. Biden’s 2020 election victory
Those actions by Mr. Trump, which led to the pro-Trump mob storming the Capitol, violated the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause,” the court ruled.
Mr. Biden declined to say if the Colorado court got it right.
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“Whether the 14th Amendment applies, I’ll let the court make that decision,” he said.
Mr. Trump, who is the frontrunner for the GOP 2024 presidential nomination, has vowed to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which includes three justices nominated by him.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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