There already is a law on the books that could save America’s democracy. And that law is contained in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Section 3 of the Amendment states:
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.
Essentially, Section 3 if the 14th Amendment disqualifies from federal or state office anyone who, having taken an oath as a public official to support the Constitution, subsequently has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the United States or given “aid or comfort” to its enemies.
So what is an insurrection? It’s a violent uprising against an authority or government. The question, vis-a-vis Donald Trump, is whether or not, through his words and actions, he instigated the siege on the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. It is clear that those who stormed the Capitol that day dissented against the 2020 election outcome, and sought to obstruct Congress’ certification of the 2020 election. They were rising up against the government.
I think, with Trump’s rhetoric (The Big Lie) about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, his telling his MAGA minions to come to DC on January 6th, where “it will be wild,” and his fiery speech that morning of the siege, when he…
- told those at the rally, “We won this election and we won it by a landslide.”
- urged Republicans to stop fighting like a boxer “with his hands tied behind his back.”
- told marchers, “You’ll never take back our country with weakness.”
- said, “And fraud breaks up everything, doesn’t it? When you catch somebody in a fraud, you’re allowed to go by very different rules.”
- told the crowd that there would be dire consequences if his supporters did not take immediate action, saying that, if Biden took office, “You will have an illegitimate president. That’s what you’ll have. And we can’t let that happen.”
- said, “We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
…it is clear that Trump incited an insurrection against the federal government of the United States.
We don’t need to change one law to save America. We just need to enforce a law that already exists: Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
Donald Trump should be disqualified from holding any federal or state office because, after taking an oath as a public official to support the Constitution, he subsequently engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States.
Donald Trump should not be permitted to run for President this…or any…year.