Trump’s lawyers argued in a Colorado court that the president has no obligation to support the Constitution; therefore, the 14th Amendment doesn’t apply to the president.
Wait, what?
The former president seeks to dismiss a Colorado lawsuit by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics that would have Trump disqualified from the ballot in Colorado under the 14th Amendment. The group argues the insurrection clause of the amendment prevents anyone who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office: civil, military, or elected.
Of course, the group is referring to the January 6th attack in Washington, D.C. by Trump supporters. After losing the election, a group of Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capital building, hoping to prevent a joint session of Congress from counting Electoral College votes.
Trump’s lawyers said the amendment’s language doesn’t apply to Trump.
“The Presidential oath, which the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment surely knew, requires the President to swear to ‘preserve, protect and defend’ the Constitution — not to ‘support’ the Constitution,” said Trump’s attorneys. “Because the framers chose to define the group of people subject to Section Three by an oath to ‘support’ the Constitution of the United States, and not by an oath to ‘preserve, protect and defend’ the Constitution, the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment never intended for it to apply to the President.”
What say you? Should Trump be allowed on the ballot?
