Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia on Sunday said that he believes a strong legal argument can be made to use the 14th Amendment to remove former President Donald Trump from the ballot in 2024, citing Trump’s actions related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Shortly after Jan. 6, Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for inciting an insurrection amid his push to overturn his election loss, with 10 Republicans and all Democrats voting to impeach him.
He denied any wrongdoing, and while seven members of his own party joined Democrats to support his conviction, he was ultimately acquitted by the Senate.
A lawsuit isn’t required, if the state election officials do the right thing.
An insurrectionist is an ineligible candidate for US president, just like a non-citizen or someone who’s not 35 yet. The states merely need to follow that existing law, just as they would do if a teenager named Pierre from Paris filed to run for US president. They wouldn’t have to be sued to say no; and Pierre wouldn’t have to be convicted of anything — they’d just say no, he’s not eligible, he doesn’t get listed on the ballot.
Trump is not eligible, just as Pierre is not eligible. Trump’s ineligibility rests on his own actions rather than his age or nationality. But all of those are (dis)qualifications spelled out in the Constitution; they’re not civil or criminal penalties from a court. It’s the job of election officials to enforce them, and a lawsuit only makes sense if they fail to do their job correctly in the first place.
I suppose a lawsuit isn’t required until the appropriate election official announces a decision, but Trump & co will definitely contest it if he’s not going to be on the ballot, and I really hope someone will contest it if he is.