US Supreme Court looks likely to reject bid to ban Donald Trump from ballot

The US Supreme Court appears poised to reject efforts to disqualify Donald Trump from the US presidential race.

Mr Trump, speaking from Mar-a-Lago in Florida, said it was “beautiful” to watch the first day of hearings into Colorado’s decision to rule him out of the state ballot.

The former president had appealed Colorado Supreme Court’s December ruling that found he should be barred from appearing on the ballot because of his role in the events of January 6.

During the two-hour hearing, both Republican and Democrat judges expressed concern about individual states having the power to take sweeping actions that would impact a presidential election nationwide.

Mr Trump did not attend the session, but told reporters he had watched the hearing and thought “it was a very beautiful process” and he thought his team’s “arguments were very, very strong”.

While he decried the lawsuit as “election interference” by Joe Biden and the Democrats, he praised the nation’s highest court, which has six Republican judges to three Democrats.

“I’m a believer in our country, and I’m a believer in the Supreme Court,” he said.

“You’re leading the country by a lot and can you take the person that’s leading everywhere and say, ‘Hey, we’re not gonna let you run?’ You know, I think that’s pretty tough to do, but I’m leaving it up to the Supreme Court.”

During the hearing, Chief Justice John Roberts, a Republican, said if the Colorado decision is upheld, other states will proceed with disqualification proceedings for Democratic or Republican candidates.

“And it will come down to just a handful of states that are going to decide the presidential election. That’s a pretty daunting consequence,” Mr Roberts told Jason Murray, who was representing the Colorado voters who sued to keep Mr Trump off the ballot,

This sentiment was reflected by Democrat judge Elena Kagan, who said: “I think that the question that you have to confront is why a single state should decide who gets to be president of the United States.”

Anti-Trump forces have sought to disqualify him in more than two dozen other states – a mostly unsuccessful effort – over the Capitol attack.

Maine has also barred him from its ballot; a decision put on hold pending the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Colorado case.

During his speech Mr Trump commented on the storming of the Capitol, claiming it was “an insurrection caused by Nancy Pelosi”, before going on to question whether it amounted to an insurrection.

The Supreme Court usually takes months to make a ruling, but given Colorado holds its primary elections on March 5, a prompt decision is to be expected.

The Supreme Court may also agree to hear an appeal by Mr Trump of a lower court ruling that he is not entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution as a former president and can be tried on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.

Yesterday Mr Trump said if a “president doesn’t have immunity he doesn’t have a presidency”. (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2024)

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