Trump’s next 'significant hurdle' is a 'decisive showdown at the Supreme Court'

Donald Trump moved another step closer to the 2024 GOP presidential nomination on Tuesday, January 23, when he defeated former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley by roughly 11 percent in the New Hampshire primary. However, Haley has vowed to stay in the race and compete with Trump in the South Carolina primary.

In a report published on January 24, Politico's Erica Orden stresses that although Trump appears to be "on an easy path to the nomination," he is still facing a "significant hurdle" and a "potentially decisive showdown at the Supreme Court."

"On February 8, the High Court will hear oral arguments on whether Trump is an insurrectionist who is barred by the 14th Amendment from running for president," Orden explains. "Trump is appealing a Colorado decision that determined he was disqualified due to his actions before and during the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. If the Court answers 'yes' — and assuming that answer applies to the primaries as well as the general election — Trump can't become the Republican nominee, no matter what the primary results dictate."

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Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment states that an "officer" who has engaged in "insurrection" is disqualified from running for certain positions. The Colorado Supreme Court and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows have decided that based on that standard, Trump is disqualified from the ballots in their states.

However, officials in Michigan and deep blue California have decided to keep Trump on their ballots. Trump has appealed the Colorado ruling, and it remains to be seen whether the U.S. Supreme Court will agree with the Colorado Supreme Court or the former president.

Jessica Levinson, who teaches constitutional law at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, predicts that the High Court will overrule the Colorado decision.

Levinson told Politico, "I believe that the Court will find a way to find that he is, in fact, eligible for the ballot. At the end of the day, I can't escape the conclusion that the Supreme Court doesn't want to be the body that took this choice away from the voters…. I think they still have PTSD from Bush v. Gore."

READ MORE: Trump's 'immunity' argument is a recipe for a 'dark American future': former federal prosecutor

Despite facing four criminal indictments, Trump remains the GOP presidential frontrunner. Haley is the only other candidate left in the primary, and Democratic officials are getting ready for a Trump/President Joe Biden rematch.

Orden notes that "of all of Trump's legal troubles, only the 14th Amendment challenge at the Supreme Court poses a direct threat to his bid to become president again." And according to Levinson, a criminal conviction wouldn't necessarily mean that Trump can't be president again.

Levinson told Politico, "I don’t see anything in the Constitution that says you can’t serve from a prison cell."

READ MORE: Another state now considering 14th Amendment challenge to Trump's ballot eligibility

Read Politico's full report at this link.