Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is vowing to remove his name from Colorado’s primary ballot unless former President Trump is reinstated following the state Supreme Court’s historic ruling Tuesday that declared him ineligible for office.
“This is what a *real* attack on democracy looks like: In an un-American, unconstitutional and *unprecedented* decision, a cabal of Democratic judges are excluding Trump from the vote in Colorado,” Ramaswamy reacted in X. “Having “Trying every trick possible to remove President Trump from its candidacy in this election, the bipartisan establishment is now deploying a new tactic to prevent him from ever holding office again: the 14th Amendment.”
“I pledge to *withdraw* from the Colorado Republican Party primary unless Trump is also allowed to be on the state ballot, and I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie and Nikki Haley do the same immediately – or else , will tacitly support this illegal maneuver that will have disastrous consequences for our country,” he wrote.
COLORADO SUPREME COURT DISQUALIFIES TRUMP FROM 2024 BALLOT
Republican challenger Vivek Ramaswamy vows to withdraw his name from the Colorado Republican primary if former President Trump is not reinstated. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
The Colorado Supreme Court’s disqualification, which was made under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, cited Trump’s conduct during the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
Tuesday’s 4-3 ruling is stayed until Jan. 4 due to possible appeals. Three Colorado Supreme Court justices dissented.
“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” the court’s majority wrote. “We are aware of the magnitude and weight of the issues now before us. We are equally aware of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law requires that we take.”
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Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung wrote in a statement that an appeal would be filed Tuesday night.
“Unsurprisingly, the all-Democrat-appointed Colorado Supreme Court ruled against President Trump, supporting a Soros-funded leftist group’s plan to interfere in an election on behalf of corrupt Joe Biden by removing the name of the president. President Trump from the ballot and remove the rights of Colorado voters to vote for the candidate of their choice. Democratic Party leaders are in a state of paranoia over the growing and commanding lead that President Trump has amassed in the polls. “They have lost faith in the failed Biden presidency and are now doing everything they can to prevent American voters from removing them from office next November,” Cheung wrote.
“The Colorado Supreme Court tonight issued a completely erroneous decision and we will quickly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a simultaneous request to stay this deeply undemocratic decision. We have every confidence that the United States Supreme Court will rule quickly in our favor and finally put an end to these anti-American trials,” he added.
Trump’s campaign criticized the Colorado Supreme Court ruling barring the former president from running in the 2024 election, and predicted the Supreme Court would rule in his favor. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In an earlier ruling, Colorado District Judge Sarah B. Wallace allowed Trump to remain on the ballot but determined that Trump “engaged in an insurrection” for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said in a statement that she would “continue to follow court guidance on this important issue.”
“The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump is barred from the Colorado election for inciting the January 6 insurrection and attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. This decision can be appealed,” Griswold wrote.
DEMOCRATS ABANDON ‘BIDENOMY’ AS SOME VOTERS COMPLAIN IT’S ‘DEAF’: REPORT
Ramaswamy is challenging his Republican rivals Chris Christie, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis to join him in pledging to remove their names from the Colorado ballot following the state Supreme Court’s ruling against former President Trump. (Getty Images)
The Fourteenth Amendment states: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or an elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, in the United States or in any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, in support of the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given help or comfort to his enemies. But Congress can, by a two-thirds vote of each House, eliminate such disability.”
Disqualification lawsuits related to Trump’s appearance on the ballot are pending in 13 states, including Texas, Nevada and Wisconsin.
Fox News’ Bill Mears and Adam Eres contributed to this report.
