MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama Republican leaders universally slammed the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove Donald Trump’s name from the state’s presidential primary ballot, many of whom alleged the decision is akin to “election interference.”
On Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court narrowly ruled that Trump was ineligible for the presidency under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause, the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate. The court stayed the ruling until Jan. 4, however, with the U.S. Supreme Court likely to make a ruling of its own on the decision in the coming weeks.
Alabama GOP Chairman John Wahl released a statement Wednesday morning condemning the decision as “un-American” and “just plain wrong,” and urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Trump’s appeal swiftly.
“This court ruling is just the latest example of Democrats using the power of government as a political weapon,” Wahl said. “The United States Constitution enshrines the basic human right that every person is innocent until proven guilty. That includes Donald Trump, and unfortunately that is a fact that the Colorado Supreme Court forgot when making this ruling.”
Adopted in 1868, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was designed to prohibit former members of the Confederacy from holding public office, specifically by barring any person that had “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the United States government. Since 1887, Section 3 has been used just once, in 1919 to bar Victor Berger from assuming office after he openly opposed the United States’ involvement in World War I.
Legal experts have been divided on whether Trump’s involvement with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot could constitute a violation of Section 3, though the U.S. Supreme Court will likely issue a final ruling on the matter within a matter of months, if not weeks.
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a staunch Trump ally, called the ruling “unprecedented.”
“Democrats love to give us lectures about ‘our democracy,’ but they have spent years trying to disqualify the most popular politician in America from getting reelected,” Tuberville said in a social media post on Wednesday.
“This unprecedented court ruling by a bare majority of democrat-appointed activist politicians in robes is an outrage to real democracy and goes far beyond the text of the constitution or any other law. I have no doubt this will be overturned on appeal and this attack on democracy will fail.”
Rep. Barry Moore, who represents Alabama Second Congressional District – though is now running for Alabama’s First Congressional District against his Republican colleague Rep. Jerry Carl – called the decision “election interference.”
His House colleague Gary Palmer, who represents Alabama’s Sixth Congressional District, said the ruling sets a “dangerous precedent.”
“This ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court shows flagrant disregard for the Constitution and places the opinions of judges over the will of the people,” Palmer said.
“Voters deserve the ability to elect their president, not partisan judges. Removing President Trump from the ballot sets a dangerous precedent where the Constitution becomes a meaningless document weaponized by the left against their political enemies.”
Other Republican House representatives from Alabama, including Reps. Robert Aderholt of District 4 and Dale Strong of District 5, condemned the ruling as well, as did Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, who joined Moore in suggesting the ruling was election interference.
“Colorado is already trying to steal and rig next year’s presidential election,” Ainsworth said in a social media post. “The national media and the country’s most liberal states know President Trump will beat Joe Biden handily, which is what they fear most.”
Every Alabama Republican member of Congress has endorsed Trump for president, as have many Republican state lawmakers.
Trump’s double digit lead in most Republican primary polls has only grown since first announcing his 2024 run, and as of Dec. 20, stands at 61.6%, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – the next-highest polling Republican candidate – polling at just 12.5%, according to the poll aggregator 538. In the general election, several recent polls have shown Trump to lead Biden by three to four points, and in others, poll equally with the current president.