Boosters for the campaign coffers
Observer on Colorado verdict: “Trump celebrates”
December 21, 2023, 6:01 a.m
Donald Trump is not allowed to run in the Colorado primaries, the state Supreme Court rules. Observers from his own and the Democratic camp agree: Nothing better could have happened to his fundraising campaign.
According to party donors and political analysts in the US, the legal disqualification of former US President Donald Trump from the primaries in the US state of Colorado will energize his political base and fill his campaign coffers. “Trump is celebrating,” said John Morgan, a Florida lawyer and key fundraiser for Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden. The verdict opens up a gold mine for the Republican Trump.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the former US president is barred from the 2024 primaries. In making its decision, the Supreme Court cited the 14th Amendment, a rarely used insurrection clause in the U.S. Constitution. Because of his role in the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021, the Republican top candidate cannot stand for election in next year’s primaries.
According to Republican campaign strategist Ford O’Connell, the Colorado court ruling will reinforce Trump’s longstanding narrative that he is the victim of a politically motivated legal process. This is likely to push undecided Republican voters into his corner. “If the indictments give Trump a significant lead in the primaries, it will end any grassroots debate about who the 2024 Republican presidential nominee will be,” O’Connell said.
Trump wants to appeal the Colorado ruling to the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has a conservative majority of six to three justices. Three of the judges were appointed by Trump himself.
Trump is currently slightly ahead
Trump’s campaign has called on his supporters to donate money to fight the Colorado court’s “tyrannical” decision. According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, Trump is slightly ahead nationwide in a direct duel with Biden before the election on November 5, 2024.
However, the Colorado ruling could also help Democrats appeal to key independent voters who believe Trump incited an insurrection on January 6, 2021. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Dec. 5-11, 57 percent of independent voters said it was credible that Trump “tried to incite a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 to attack”. Only 30 percent thought this was unbelievable. In contrast, about 70 percent of Republicans surveyed found that claim “not credible,” while 23 percent of Republicans said it was credible. The rest were unsure about the question.
When asked whether Trump was a rebel, US President Joe Biden told reporters that it was “obvious. You saw it all yourself.” “We’ll let the court decide whether the 14th Amendment applies or not,” Biden continued. “But he certainly supported an insurrection. There is no doubt about that. None. Zero.”