Former President Donald Trump scored a major win this week in his quest for another term in the White House when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that he could appear on Colorado ballots. Is there still something lurking in his mountain of legal troubles that could impact his campaign?
According to experts, there are still threats to Trump’s ability to run and his ability to take office if he wins.
“Monday was a win Trump needed to continue his campaign, but his days in court are far from over,” said an Associated Press report.
While Trump has maintained a steady lead over his lone challenger for the GOP nomination – former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley – he still has to go through the primary races ahead of the Republican National Convention this summer. Previously, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump could not appear on primary ballots there due to his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot. This week, the Supreme Court ruled that enforcement of the clause in the 14th amendment that bars people who have participated in an insurrection from appearing on ballots lies with Congress.
“The decision ignited an intense debate among election experts and constitutional scholars about whether the court has opened a path to another Jan. 6 crisis four years after the attack on the Capitol,” said POLITICO. It said that Democrats may try to block Trump from taking office if he wins the presidential election in November, and cite the clause as their reason.
Forbes reported that experts are concerned that this situation could result in a nasty post-election period.
“If Trump wins, lawmakers in Congress could try to pass legislation to enforce section three of the 14th Amendment and disqualify him from actually holding office – though passing that legislation would remain an extreme long shot in a narrowly divided House and Senate,” said the outlet.
Still, that isn’t the only possible issue that puts a second Trump term in question. After four indictments last year, he faces 91 criminal charges.
Some of these charges could prevent Trump from holding office if he is eventually convicted of them.
“The 14th Amendment case is one of two putting the high court squarely in the midst of the ongoing presidential election,” said the Associated Press this week. “Last week, the court agreed to hear Trump’s appeal of a federal ruling that he’s not entitled to immunity from criminal charges for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election.”
Per the report, the court is expected to hear Trump’s appeal in late April, and the trial may conclude after the presidential election is over. According to a piece in The Atlantic, any of the criminal charges against Trump could result in a prison sentence. It noted that he has already lost a civil suit that could damage his business empire, as well as cases related to E. Jean Carroll.
Even if Trump does end up in prison, he still might be able to serve as president, according to reports from POLITICO and CNN.
Quentin Fulks, a manager for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, said in an MSNBC interview Monday that the president’s team didn’t “really care” about the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding Colorado ballots. He said they intend to win by simply beating Trump in 2024.
Recent polling shows that Biden – the likely Democrat candidate in 2024 – and Trump are often neck-and-neck.