Leading Democratic presidential candidates have reached an agreement on a nationwide effort to ban former President Trump from primary voting, calling the move “dangerous.”
Three of President Biden's challengers spoke out in a forum hosted by NewsNation's Dan Abrams about Colorado disqualifying Trump from voting on the grounds that he violated the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause. He was asked about his thoughts on the state and Maine's decision. Under the law, those sworn to the Constitution are prohibited from insurrection or rebellion against the U.S. government.
Author Marianne Williamson believes the move is “very dangerous”.
“He has not been convicted of sedition. He has never done so, so I think it would be very dangerous for the judge to even opine on this matter,” Williamson told Abrams. “People who love Donald Trump will vote for Donald Trump.”
“We can indict him 91 more times and he could go to jail. People will vote for him,” she continued. “No matter what we do to try to thwart Donald Trump, this is not how we will win in 2024. We are going to win in 2024 by providing a better life for the American people.” is.”
Candidates Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and “The Young Turks” host Cenk Uygur seemed to agree, saying it should be up to voters.
“I think the voters should decide whether they're going to vote for us in the primaries or whether they're going to vote for Donald Trump in the primaries and the general election,” he said. “If we think democracy is at stake, we should actually participate in democracy. We should support democracy.”
Phillips, the only lawmaker running against Biden, reflected on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. He agreed that President Trump “incited” the insurrection, but said American voters should be the “judge and jury” of the insurrection.
His words came as states across the country are competing to add candidates to their Democratic primaries despite Biden being the incumbent.
“I was locked in the House chamber on January 6th, and I'll say the quiet part out loud: Donald Trump incited the riot,” he said at the forum. “My colleagues in the Senate and House all know that, we tried to prosecute him and we failed.”
“Do you think Democrats should pursue legal routes to defeat Donald Trump? No!” he said. “By the same token, they should not pursue the same route to keep us from voting.”
Colorado and Maine then ruled in December that Trump violated the constitution by inciting his supporters with false claims of election fraud and leading them to the Capitol. was disqualified.
The Trump campaign has appealed both cases, and earlier this month the Supreme Court agreed to review Colorado's ban. The Republican National Committee (RNC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee each filed court briefs supporting his challenge.
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