Maine, in the northeast of the United States, became the second state this Thursday to expel former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) from the internal elections of the Republican Party to choose the candidate for the 2024 presidential elections.
In a document shared by various media outlets in the United States, the Secretary of State of Maine, Shenna Bellows, announced the decision, in which she alleged that Trump cannot participate in the elections for having participated in an “insurrection” , in reference to the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Bellows’ decision comes a week after the Supreme Court of the state of Colorado, in a historic measure, also decided in favor of expelling the Republican from his party’s primaries, also for “insurrection”.
A few days later, on Wednesday, the Michigan Supreme Court did the opposite of Colorado and Maine: it refused to disqualify Trump for the next election.
The Republican Party of Colorado has filed an appeal before the Supreme Court of the United States against the disqualification of former President Donald Trump, current pre-candidate for the White House, from the elections in this state.
The magistrates resorted to the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution approved in 1868, after the Civil War, in order to prevent people associated with the southern elevations of the Confederacy from coming to power.
The unexpected decision expels Trump from the primaries for the White House of the Republican Party called for March 5, a key date in the calendar, since it is what is known as Super Tuesday, with fifteen states called to the polls, and that could define the contention.
The appeal filed by the Republicans before the Supreme Court of the United States automatically puts the Colorado decision on hold, so Trump, for now, will indeed be on the ballot on March 5.
It is expected that the Trump campaign will present a second appeal in the coming days, parallel to that of the Republicans in Colorado.
Supreme Court justices must now decide the issue, which has a national impact, as it must decide whether or not the 14th Amendment applies to Trump’s case and, therefore, whether he can run for president .
In a statement, the lawyers representing the Republicans urged the Supreme Court for a quick resolution of the issue: “There is an avalanche of similar cases that are being presented throughout the country, which is why the definitive and quick review of the Court Supreme in this matter is essential”.
Whatever the Supreme Court of the United States decides will have to be applied throughout the country. Six of its nine members are conservatives, three of them appointed by Trump during his term.
