Outraged by the recent decision of the Colorado Supreme Court deeming former US President Donald Trump ineligible to run for the presidency in 2024 under the 14th Amendment, Republicans in the GOP are now advocating for the removal of President Joe Biden from state presidential ballots. This call for Biden's removal stems from concerns over his administration's perceived failure to control the influx of immigrants.
Several Republicans, as reported by the media, are asserting that Biden should be excluded from state ballots. Anthony Sabatini, a Republican congressional candidate in Florida's 11th district and former Florida state representative, took to X to declare, "Remove Biden from the Florida ballot now!"
Texas Lt Governor Dan Patrick, in an interview with Fox News, proposed removing Biden from the 2024 ballot in Texas, citing the administration's handling of immigration at the US-Mexico border. Patrick expressed concern, saying, "Seeing what happened in Colorado makes me think -- except we believe in democracy in Texas -- maybe we should take Joe Biden off the ballot in Texas for allowing eight million people to cross the border since he's been president, disrupting our state."
Political commentator Gunther Eagleman echoed this sentiment on X, asserting that Biden should be struck from the Texas ballot following the Colorado Supreme Court's decision.
The Colorado Supreme Court's ruling, a narrow 4-3 decision, found that the former president violated the 14th Amendment by engaging in insurrection. The court held that Trump's actions during the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, amounted to insurrection, and therefore, he is disqualified from holding the presidency.
In November, a lower court in Colorado, responding to a group of Colorado voters including Norma Anderson, a petitioner and former Republican majority leader of the Colorado House and Senate, acknowledged that Trump engaged in insurrection during the Capitol riot. Despite being the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, Trump denies any wrongdoing and has not faced charges related to insurrection.
Trump argues that courts lack the authority to bar candidates from the ballot under constitutional provisions. The Colorado Supreme Court, in its ruling, emphasized that Trump's continued support for the Capitol siege, including his calls to Vice President Mike Pence and senators to halt the electoral vote counting, constituted direct participation in the insurrection.
(With Agency Inputs)
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