14th Amendment Says Trump Can’t Be President Again

If we value the Constitution, we must value all of it. This includes the 14th Amendment, which says Trump can’t be President again because of crimes he committed the first time. No, we’re not talking about his rape of E. Jean Carroll. Or his felony fraud conviction. Or a conviction at all. It’s all about the Insurrection.

The 14th Amendment makes it clear that Trump can’t be President, even if elected, because he engaged in an insurrection against our country after taking an oath to support the Constitution. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment reads:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Trump, The Insurrectionist

The 14th Amendment doesn’t require a conviction. Just an action — engaging in an insurrection. Why is this important? Because the state of Colorado found in November 2023 that Trump engaged in an insurrection. The case to disqualify Trump was brought by six Republican and Independent voters. While the district judge found that Trump engaged in insurrection, they did not remove Trump from the ballot because they felt it was unclear if Section 3 of the 14th Amendment covered the presidency.

Naturally, this was challenged. The state Supreme Court supported the original finding that Trump did indeed try to overthrow the government and overturned the lower court ruling regarding his removal from the ballot. The highest state court in Colorado arrived at a 4-3 decision that “A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.” 

Trump then took it to the Supreme Court he stacked with loyalists in his first term. Shockingly, all nine justices — not just the ones Trump installed to enforce his will– concurred that states do not have removal power, leaving that decision up to Congress. But SCOTUS very notably did not find that Trump did not engage in an insurrection.

Trump Is Ineligible To Be President

Colorado wasn’t the only state to disqualify Trump before SCOTUS stepped in. In fact, the only three states to consider evidence — Colorado, Illinois, and Maine — removed him from the ballot, at least initially. Because the evidence is there. Trump did it.

Since SCOTUS punted on the insurrection issue, this leaves Colorado’s finding that he absolutely engaged in one as the standing ruling. The issue only dealt with his ability to be on the ballot, not his eligibility to serve. And, once again, the 14th Amendment makes it crystal clear that he is not eligible to hold any office in the United States, let alone be President. But since this is America, it is doubtful that our country will respect its own laws and do something to stop this stain on our nation’s history from taking place. Trump, unfortunately, will be the 47th President — and perhaps the last.