Former president and current GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Tump has warned that the United States is in “big trouble” if the Supreme Court does not declare him eligible for the 2024 ballots.
On Friday, the Supreme Court announced that it had agreed to hear Trump’s appeal of the Colorado Supreme Court’s controversial decision to block him from the state’s ballot over him supposedly engaging in an “insurrection.” Trump has argued that he was denied due process because he was never charged with or convicted of “insurrection” and the Colorado Supreme Court declared him ineligible without allowing him to defend himself in the case.
BREAKING – HUGE: The U.S. Supreme Court just announced that it will decide if Donald Trump can be disqualified from running for federal office again based on his actions related to the Jan. 6 Capitol protests.
NOTE: The case originated from a Colorado Supreme Court decision, but… pic.twitter.com/7fqccIMNZ9
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 5, 2024
Trump spoke out about the Supreme Court’s impending decision on the case during a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Friday.
“I just hope we get fair treatment,” he said during the event, according to The Hill.
“Because if we don’t, our country’s in big, big trouble. Does everybody understand what I’m saying?”
Trump — who is spending several days in Iowa to campaign ahead of the state’s caucuses, as Iowa is the first state to select its nominees for president — also claimed during the rally that Democrats are trying to cast doubt on the Supreme Court’s objectivity in the case because Trump had appointed three of its justices.
“They’re saying, ‘Oh, Trump owns the Supreme Court; he owns it. He owns it. If they make a decision for him, it will be terrible. It’ll ruin their reputations,’” he told the crowd. “‘He owns the Supreme Court. He put on three judges. He owns the Supreme Court. If they rule in his favor, it will be horrible for them. And we’ll protest at their houses.’”
Trump then argued that this kind of pressure is pushing “people to do the wrong thing,” arguing that what the Democrats are doing “is no different than Bobby Knight” — referring to the late basketball coach who was infamous for his arguments with referees.
Trump’s message to his justices on The Supreme Court on what they should consider when deciding on his case: pic.twitter.com/ToVvpT5jd7
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 6, 2024
In Colorado, the justices ruled that Trump’s actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol protests came under the “insurrection clause” of the 14th Amendment, a Civil War-era provision disqualifying people who have committed insurrection against the country from holding office.
Trump has been removed from Maine’s ballot under the same argument, and challenges are being discussed in more than a dozen states, meaning a ruling by the Supreme Court in his favor could end such arguments about his qualifications for the ballots.
