Michigan Appeals Court: Trump Stays on Primary Ballot

Facts

• Former US Pres. Donald Trump will be able to appear on Michigan’s 2024 Republican primary ballot after the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in his favor on Thursday.¹
• By a 3-0 vote, the appeals court affirmed two lower-court rulings that rejected critics’ attempts to keep him off the ballot based on the Insurrection Clause of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.¹
• In response to an appeal filed on behalf of a group of Michigan voters by Free Speech For People, a watchdog group, the court said “it would be improper” to rule on Trump’s qualification for the presidency when the election is just at the primary stage.²
• Trump’s critics in several states have attempted to disqualify him from returning to the presidency by claiming his actions up to and on Jan. 6, 2021 — when Trump supporters participated in riots at the US Capitol following Joe Biden’s election win – violated the 14th Amendment.³
• Previously, similar cases in Colorado and Minnesota were rejected by courts in those states.⁴

Sources: ¹Mlive, ²Abc news, ³The hill and ⁴Upi.

Narratives

• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Pj media. The only way Democrats can think of to defeat Trump is by exercising a Civil War-era clause in the Constitution to keep him off the ballot. Desperate Democrats may continue to attempt this type of election interference, but it won’t work. Trump will be on the general election ballot in 2024 with a strong chance to win a return stint in the White House.
• Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by New york times. Trump and his allies are celebrating this and other victories in these 14th Amendment cases. But in this specific instance, the judge hasn’t cleared him to be on the general election ballot, just the primary ballot. Should Trump secure the GOP nomination, he’ll probably have to mount a defense against more challenges to his presence on the ballot related to his actions on Jan. 6, 2021.

Predictions