SCOTUS to Decide if Trump Can Run for President

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Facts

  • Setting the stage for what will be a historic case, the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) on Friday said it will decide if former Pres. Donald Trump can be kept off state primary ballots in the US presidential election this year.1
  • It will be the first time the court has to weigh the meaning and reach of the US Constitution's 14th Amendment — enacted in 1868 following the country's Civil War. Its provisions include barring individuals from serving in public office if they've 'engaged in insurrection.'2
  • SCOTUS's decision to hear the case comes after Trump appealed a December judgment from the Colorado Supreme Court that, in a vote of 4–3, ruled that the GOP frontrunner cannot be on its state ballot. In taking on the case weeks before voters are due to start casting primary ballots, justices acknowledged they need to act quickly if the matter is to be resolved.2
  • In the court order issued on Friday, justices said that oral arguments will be heard on Feb. 8, adding that Trump's lawyers must file any briefs supporting their case no later than Jan. 18. Meanwhile, the team that brought the case against Trump will have until Jan. 31 to respond.3
  • Legal scholars suggested that while the deadlines show that SCOTUS is moving at expedited speed, it will still have its work cut out. Even before a decision in this case can be reached, Republican primaries will have been held in the states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada. Trump has also been ruled off the ballot in Maine, where a state-level appeal is currently underway.4
  • Meanwhile, in his first campaign speech of 2024 on Friday, Pres. Joe Biden cast Trump as a fundamental threat to American democracy, deploring his actions during the events that unfolded at the Capitol riots exactly three years ago. Trump denied the accusations, accusing the president of 'fear mongering.'5

Sources: 1BBC News (a), 2Associated Press, 3The Supreme Court, 4Guardian and 5BBC News (b).

Narratives

  • Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by Guardian. As Biden's tour de force of a speech on Friday rightly highlighted, Trump has already demonstrated he's willing to sacrifice American democracy for his own malevolent aims. This is a momentous moment for the country, and in order to protect American democracy, Trump cannot be allowed to be the country's president again.
  • Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Federalist. Keeping Trump off the 2024 ballot would be a monumental mistake. He's the overwhelming favorite to be the Republican candidate, and Democrats' efforts to keep him off the ballot would only see voters lose their right to choose. Going through with this would disenfranchise half the country and set off a dangerous precedent that would be the true threat to American democracy.

Predictions