The announcement that Donald Trump's name would be removed from the ballot in Colorado due to a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court has provoked strong reactions from the Republican Party. After strong statements from Vivek Ramaswamy, inviting his fellow GOP candidates to withdraw from the primary in The Centennial State if the former president is banned. Even Trump's archnemesis, Chris Christie, criticized the ruling.
Chris Christie
After the Colorado Supreme Court's announcement, conservative voters awaited the reaction from one of Trump's main critics. The former governor of New Jersey condemned the ruling, emphasizing that it is not the courts, but the voters, who should prevent the former president from reaching the Oval Office: "Donald Trump should not be prevented from being President by any court. He should be prevented from being President of the United States by the voters of this country."
Donald Trump should not be prevented from being President by any court. He should be prevented from being President of the United States by the voters of this country. pic.twitter.com/77ChhLFkFz
— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) December 20, 2023
Ron DeSantis
The governor of Florida and second-leading Republican candidate in most primary polls, criticized the ruling as a partisan move and called for its reversal in the Supreme Court: "The Left invokes 'democracy' to justify its use of power, even if it means abusing judicial power to remove a candidate from the ballot based on spurious legal grounds. SCOTUS should reverse."
The Left invokes “democracy” to justify its use of power, even if it means abusing judicial power to remove a candidate from the ballot based on spurious legal grounds. SCOTUS should reverse. https://t.co/D4pCzZ7FhY
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) December 20, 2023
Nikki Haley
In statements reported by CNN, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. was very critical of the ruling, asking that voters be the ones to decide: "We don’t need to have judges making these decisions, we need voters to make these decisions. So, I want to see this in the hands of the voters. We’re going to win this the right way. We’re going to do what we need to do, but the last thing we want is judges telling us who can and can’t be on the ballot."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The leading independent candidate expressed himself forcefully in a series of posts on X (formerly known as Twitter): "Trump blocked from the ballot in Colorado. When a court in another country disqualifies an opposition candidate from running, we say, 'That’s not a real democracy.' Now it’s happening here."
I’m not a Trump supporter (if I were, I wouldn’t be running against him!) But I want to beat him in a fair election, not because he was kicked off the ballot. Let the voters choose, not the courts! #Kennedy24
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) December 20, 2023
In a second thread, Kennedy stressed that the former president is being deprived of his right to run without having been convicted of any crime. Furthermore, the independent warned of the consequences that this block could have, potentially causing unrest among Trump supporters. He asked the Colorado Supreme Court itself to reverse its decision: "If Trump is kept out of office through judicial fiat rather than being defeated in a fair election, his supporters will never accept the result. This country will become ungovernable."
If Trump is kept out of office through judicial fiat rather than being defeated in a fair election, his supporters will never accept the result. This country will become ungovernable.
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) December 20, 2023
Ronna McDaniel
The chairwoman of the Republican National Committee described the ruling as "electoral interference," pointing out that it was a decision made for partisan reasons: "The Republican nominee will be decided by Republican voters, not a partisan state court."
Election interference.
This irresponsible ruling will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and our legal team looks forward to helping fight for a victory.
The Republican nominee will be decided by Republican voters, not a partisan state court. https://t.co/TpzY6oULhu
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) December 19, 2023
Speaker Mike Johnson
The speaker of the House of Representatives noted that "Today’s ruling attempting to disqualify President Trump from the Colorado ballot is nothing but a thinly veiled partisan attack." The speaker expressed his confidence that "the U.S. Supreme Court will set aside this reckless decision and let the American people decide the next President of the United States."
Today’s ruling attempting to disqualify President Trump from the Colorado ballot is nothing but a thinly veiled partisan attack.
Regardless of political affiliation, every citizen registered to vote should not be denied the right to support our former president and the… https://t.co/yMm4wTb1K8— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) December 20, 2023
