President Joe Biden says there is “no question” that former President Donald Trump is an insurrectionist.
When asked by a reporter to comment on the Colorado Supreme Court ruling 4-3 to remove Trump from the GOP primary ballot, Biden said he would not comment as it was a “court case.”
In a 213-page ruling, the justices of the Colorado Supreme Court said Trump was “disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
This comes after Judge Sarah Wallace ruled in November that while Trump had “engaged in an insurrection on January 6, 2021, through incitement,” he was not an “officer of the United States” and was not disqualified from holding office and should be placed on the ballot.
When pressed as to whether Biden believed Trump was an insurrectionist, Biden said it was “self-evident” to him.
“You saw it all,” Biden added. “Now, whether the 14th Amendment applies, we’ll let the court make that decision. But, he certainly supported an insurrection, no question about it, none, zero. And, he seems to be doubling down on everything.”
In response to the Colorado Supreme Court deciding to take Trump off the ballot, Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy promised to remove himself from the ballot if Trump was removed. Ramaswamy also called upon the other GOP presidential candidates, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R), and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) to join him in pledging to withdraw from the Colorado primary ballot.
Additionally, the Colorado Republican Party vowed to withdraw itself from the primary if Trump was removed from the ballot.
The decision from the Colorado Supreme Court has sparked outrage and criticism from several members of Congress.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) blasted the ruling as being “nothing but a thinly veiled partisan attack” and expressed hope that the Supreme Court would “set aside this reckless decision.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-Colo.) issued a three-page bill that would withhold federal election funds from states that misuse the 14th Amendment for a political agenda or other reasons.
The ruling is on hold until Jan. 4 in order to allow Trump enough time to seek an appeal from the Supreme Court. The matter will need to be resolved by Jan. 5, the deadline for when candidates appearing on the GOP’s ballot must be finalized.
