Supreme Court Hands Trump a Victory Ahead of Super Tuesday

Maine Secretary of State Shanna Bellows disqualified President Trump late last year, after holding a public hearing on the matter and inviting parties to file supplemental briefs after the Colorado disqualification.

The removal was stayed, appealed in court, and the secretary was ultimately ordered to await the high court’s decision and act accordingly.

In Illinois, the state elections board unanimously voted to keep President Trump on the ballot, and a county judge overturned the order just last week. President Trump sought and was granted a stay on that order pending the Supreme Court’s decision, which the judge has decided to defer to.

—Catherine Yang

Trump Compares 14th Amendment Disqualifications to Political ‘Weaponization’ From ‘Third World Countries’

President Trump described his rise in popularity after his recent court cases as paradoxical, saying that “historically a thing like what I’ve been going through would have hurt a political party or a political candidate terrifically.”

Instead, polls showed President Trump with higher support than his GOP rivals throughout his party’s primary, and his numbers have steadily risen since he entered the race.

He also said that after this political “weaponization” through the attempts to disqualify him from state ballots, his support has grown instead of waned.

Still, he admonished the efforts from Colorado, Maine, and Illinois.

“This is for third-world countries. This isn’t for us. Biden ought to drop all of these things, and frankly, he may do better because people would say, ‘wow, that was very reasonable.’”

—Jacob Burg

Trump Says Presidency Would Be ‘Ceremonial Post’ Without Immunity

President Trump said it would have been tough for him to make decisions regarding his administration’s efforts to end terror group ISIS if he had to be worried about being prosecuted by his opponent after leaving office.

“The President shouldn’t have that on his mind and he has to have a free and clear mind when he makes very big decisions. Or it’s going to be nothing more than a ceremonial post. You’ll be president … and you won’t do anything because you don’t want to be hit by your opponent or hit by somebody else,” he said.

—Jacob Burg

Trump Hopes Supreme Court Will Also Grant Him ‘Full Immunity’

President Trump complimented the Supreme Court on its March 4 ruling and said he also hopes the high court will grant him presidential immunity in his appeal to his Washington D.C. criminal case.

He said that without “full immunity,” a president would not be able to make the “right decision[s].”

“If a president doesn’t have full immunity, you really don’t have a president because nobody that is serving in that office will have the courage to make, in many cases, what would be the right decision, or it could be the wrong decision,” President Trump said in his speech at Mar-a-Lago on March 4.

—Jacob Burg

Trump Says Supreme Court Ruling ‘Unifying Factor’

President Trump said the Supreme Court ruling to reverse Colorado’s ballot disqualification of him will “go a long way towards bringing our country together.”

“They worked very quickly on something that will be spoken about 100 years from now, or 200 years from now …. Essentially, you cannot take somebody out of a race, because an opponent would like to have it that way.”

“And it has nothing to do with the fact that is the leading candidate, whether it was the leading candidate or a candidate that was well down on the totem pole, you cannot take somebody out of a race. The voters can take the person out of the race very quickly, but the court shouldn’t be doing that and the Supreme Court saw that very well. And I really do believe that will be a unifying factor,” President Trump said.

—Jacob Burg

Reactions to the Supreme Court 14th Amendment Ruling

President Trump is speaking on March 4 at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, after the Supreme Court reversed a Colorado court’s disqualification of him on the basis of the 14th Amendment.

President Trump called the decision “both unifying and inspirational” in an interview with Fox News Digital, and said he hopes the High Court will also rule in his favor regarding his claims of presidential immunity.

“No president would be able to properly and effectively function without complete and total immunity,” President Trump told Fox News Digital. “Our country would be put at great risk.”

“Today’s decision, especially the fact that it was unanimous, 9-0, is both unifying and inspirational for the people of the United States of America,” the former president added.

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel reacted to the ruling in a statement.

“The effort to kick Donald Trump off of the ballot was pure election interference from the Left, and the RNC was proud to fight in the Supreme Court alongside President Trump’s campaign and other Republican partners to preserve voters’ right to make their voices heard.”

“We look forward to continuing to fight and beat Democrats in court over the coming months,” she added.

The Colorado Republican Party, responding to the ruling, echoed Trump’s “election interference” framing of the attempts to remove him from ballots for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. “Joe Biden and his … allies don’t get to engage in election interference by violating our right to vote for the candidate of our choice,” it said on social media.

Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, a Republican, said on social media that “SCOTUS did their duty. They acted swiftly and UNANIMOUSLY to restore law and order and protect the right of the American people to choose their president.”

President Trump, in an interview on March 4 with the conservative radio host Howie Carr, said he was “honored” by the unanimous Supreme Court decision. “This is for future presidents, this is not for me,” he said. “This is for future presidents, all presidents.”

—Jacob Burg

What to Know About the Supreme Court Ruling

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that states do not have the authority to enforce the 14th Amendment’s Section 3 disqualification when it comes to national candidates, putting that “critical” power in the hands of Congress.

“[R]esponsibility for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the States. The judgment of the Colorado Supreme Court therefore cannot stand,” the per curiam order reads. “All nine Members of the Court agree with that result.”

The justices found that the text of Section 3 itself reinforces this reading, as it allows Congress to “remove” a Section 3 “disability” through a two-thirds vote.

“The text imposes no limits on that power, and Congress may exercise it any time,” the opinion reads.

—Catherine Yang

What to Look for in North Carolina on Super Tuesday

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—North Carolina will be a battleground state in the 2024 election.

Former President Donald Trump won the state in 2020 by 74,483 votes or 49.93 percent of the vote to President Joe Biden’s 48.59 percent.

The biggest races in the Tar Heel State are for governor, Congress, and attorney general.

The current governor, Rory Cooper, a Democrat, is ineligible to run for a third consecutive term.

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is expected to be the GOP nominee despite his history of making antisemitic and other bigoted comments, while the likely Democrat candidate is Attorney General Josh Stein.

Regarding the Congressional races, the North Carolina delegation is set next year, thanks to gerrymandering, to be majority Republican—compared to the current even makeup of seven Democrats and seven Republicans.

In terms of the attorney general race, Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) is all but guaranteed to be the GOP nominee as he is the only one in that party’s primary, while the Democrat primary includes Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-N.C.), Marine Corps veteran Tim Dunn, and Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry.

Outside of the races, the chairman of the North Carolina GOP, Michael Whatley, looks set to take the post of chairman of the Republican National Committee.

—Jackson Richman

Jerry Carl, Barry Moore Make Final Appeals in South Alabama

MOBILE, Ala.—Two sitting members of the House are making their last pitches to voters in Alabama’s newly redrawn 1st Congressional District ahead of the state’s Super Tuesday (March 5) primary election.

On March 4, Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Ala.) and Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala.) are in their respective hometowns on last-minute campaign stops.

Mr. Carl, from Mobile, Alabama, is making a stop at the Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Mobile on the evening of March 4. The church is holding a Lenten event hosted by Bryan, Texas-based anti-abortion campaign 40 Days For Life. Mobile is Alabama’s second most populous city and the seat of Mobile County.

On the morning of March 5, Mr. Carl is planning on voting at the Clearwater Christian Church in Mobile. Mr. Carl is hosting an election night watch party at the TimberCreek Golf Club in Daphne, Alabama.

Mr. Moore, from Enterprise, Alabama, is planning on knocking on doors and speaking with voters on March 4 in and around Enterprise. That city, located in Coffee County, Alabama, is also the hometown of Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.). Mr. Moore previously told The Epoch Times he plans on voting in Enterprise on March 5, then heading back to Washington to rejoin the House when the 119th Congress resumes.

Alabama’s 1st District was redrawn in October 2023, setting up a face-off between Mr. Carl and Mr. Moore. Mr. Carl, who’s served two terms in Congress representing the old 1st District centered on the Mobile area, is being challenged by Mr. Moore, who’s served two terms in the old 2nd District, which spanned much of southeastern Alabama and included Montgomery County.

The new 1st District includes Alabama’s Gulf Coast and so-called Wiregrass region. It splits Mobile County with a newly redrawn 2nd District.

The 1st District now covers every one of Alabama’s southernmost counties bordering the Florida panhandle and Georgia’s western border. The new 2nd District covers the so-called Black Belt region of Alabama, half of Mobile County, and Montgomery County. The maps were redrawn to give black Alabamans a better chance of sending a congressman of their choosing to Capitol Hill.

Whoever wins the GOP primary on March 5 will very likely win the district in November, too.

—Austin Alonzo

What to Expect in North Dakota’s GOP Caucus Today

Republicans in North Dakota will get a chance to vote on the party’s nominee Monday night as they gather around the state for the presidential caucuses, with 29 delegates up for grabs.

President Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will be joined on the ballot by Florida businessman David Stuckenberg and Texas businessman and pastor Ryan Binkley, who recently ended his presidential campaign.

President Trump will see support from North Dakota Gov. Doug Bergum who endorsed the former president after ending his own presidential campaign in December 2023.

While President Trump is favored to win the Peace Garden State’s GOP contest, caucus Chair Robert Harms said a win from Ms. Haley could affect the Super Tuesday races the following day.

“So if something unusual happens in North Dakota on Monday, it could very well influence how some of those other states vote the following day,” Mr. Harms told The Associated Press.

There will be 12 different caucus sites around the state on Monday. The party encourages caucus voters to be paying party members, which costs $50 yearly, but those who do not pay are asked to sign a pledge to affiliate with the party, according to Mr. Harms.

North Dakota is also the only state without voter registration and the caucuses follow the official state voter identification guidelines, which require voters to present a driver’s license.

Candidates must net at least 20 percent of the vote to win any of the 29 available delegates. If a candidate wins with more than 60 percent, they take all of North Dakota’s delegates.

All voting is done in person and on printed ballots, which are also hand-counted. Voting is open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET. Republicans have printed 30,000 ballots for the Monday caucuses and results are expected around 10 p.m. ET.

—Jacob Burg, The Associated Press

Trump to Respond to SCOTUS Ruling

President Trump will speak at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida today at 12:30 p.m. ET, one day before the decisive Super Tuesday primaries.

The former president is expected to remark on the Supreme Court’s March 4 ruling that reversed Colorado’s ballot qualification of him on the basis of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

“BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post shortly after the ruling.

President Trump also won three contests over the weekend, netting delegates in Missouri, Michigan, and Idaho. He lost his first race of the year to Nikki Haley in Washington D.C. on Sunday, getting 33.3 percent of the vote to Ms. Haley’s 62.8 percent.

The Colorado court had ruled that President Trump was disqualified from state ballots under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, suggesting that the former president had “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the U.S. Constitution in his actions on Jan. 6, 2021.

The Supreme Court said it’s the role of Congress to enforce Section 3—not the states.

“This case raises the question whether the States, in addition to Congress, may also enforce Section 3. We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency,” the court said in its ruling.

While individual states have the power to decide which candidates can be elected to state offices, the Supreme Court says this does not extend to “federal officeholders and candidates.”

Colorado was not the only state trying to disqualify President Trump from its ballot.

The Maine secretary of state and an Illinois judge had also ruled that the former president could not be on their state’s respective ballots under Section 3. However, the Colorado, Maine, and Illinois disqualifications were all stayed pending a Supreme Court ruling and had not yet removed President Trump from their ballots.

—Jacob Burg

Delegate Math Heading into Super Tuesday

As the GOP primary heads into the decisive Super Tuesday contests, President Trump leads with 244 delegates. Nikki Haley, who finally won her first race over the weekend with the Washington D.C. primary, trails the former president with 43 delegates. The D.C. primary netted Ms. Haley 19 delegates after she beat President Trump with 62.8 percent of the vote.

Democrats have 1,420 delegates up for grabs on Super Tuesday and 1,928 are required to secure the nomination. However, President Biden is the expected nominee and currently has 206 delegates after winning every contest thus far.

—Jacob Burg

Voting by Mail in California

FRESNO, Calif.—Travis Brown, 46, of Lemoore, Elizabeth Errico, 45, of Fresno, and Joscelynn Errico, 18, of Fresno intend to vote by mail in tomorrow’s primary election.

“I’m not saying Biden is the answer to all our prayers. He’s just the best we have at the moment,” Jocelyn, a first-time voter told The Epoch Times. Elizabeth is an independent who is leaning democratic this cycle. Travis is a registered Republican.

—Lawrence Wilson

Leaning on Trump to Solve Homelessness

FRESNO, Calif.—Homelessness is the biggest issue driving Abraham Moreno Jr., 34, of Parlier, Calif., to vote on Super Tuesday. Mr. Moreno works at Fresno’s Trolley Park. “It’s a big problem. We have a lot of homeless people coming through the park,” he told The Epoch Times.

—Lawrence Wilson

Haley Heads to Super Tuesday With First Win

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley secured her first Republican primary win last night. Her victory in D.C. was not so much of a shocker, but her taking the majority of the votes, and therefore all 19 delegates, was—at least to attendees at the results announcement last night.

When the results were called at about 8:30 p.m. at the Madison Hotel, the small room was silent, then one or two cheered. Someone said, “Really?”

The primary was unique: a D.C. GOP-run three-day event with a single polling location at the Hotel due to the RNC rules and the city’s June primary timeframe.

Ms. Haley invested a lot of resources in D.C.; her team spent three weeks door-knocking and reaching out to the 22,500 registered Republicans in the District, according to Nicole McClure, executive director of the D.C. GOP. Ms. Haley also held a rally at the Madison Hotel on Friday, drawing hundreds.

President Trump’s campaign had no presence at the Hotel.

Original News Source Link – Epoch Times

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