Illinois becomes the third US state to put the candidacy of Donald J. Trump in jeopardy, after a court ruling on February 28th, 2024.
Trump is seeking to become America’s 47th president, having failed to win a second term in 2020 when he lost to former Vice-President, Joe Biden.
According to Judge Tracie Porter, the Illinois’ election board erred in including the name of former president Trump on the ballot, considering that the US Congress has found him guilty of playing a pivotal role in the January 2021 insurrection that took place at the US Capitol.
There are several other states where the 2024 candidacy of Donald Trump is still unresolved, and they include some populous states such as California, Texas, Florida and New York.
According to the constitution’s 14th amendment, which was enacted following the US Civil War, any officer of the government involved in an insurrection can no longer be allowed to hold office.
Trump’s Candidacy Challenged Under the 14th Amendment
While the 4-year-long Civil War (1861 to 1865) that involved several states claimed the lives of more than 750,000 soldiers, the January 2021 insurrection chaos that took place just within the Capitol precincts claimed the lives of five people, among them a police officer and a US veteran.
Apparently, voters who want the 46th president locked out of the 2024 elections under the 14th amendment, are concerned how many more lives might have been lost had the insurrection spread beyond Capitol Hill, as Trump and the fanatical [i]MAGA supporters appeared to encourage.
Trump Still Hopeful
Although the courts in the states of Maine and Colorado also ruled against Trump’s name appearing on the ballot, the Republican Party has lodged an appeal at the Supreme Court, and is set to do the same against the Illinois ruling as well.
Both the Democrats and Republicans await the Supreme Court’s ruling with bated breath, hoping to know the soonest possible the stance of the country’s highest court regarding the candidacy of Donald Trump as the presidential nominee for the [ii]GOP.
Should Donald Trump end up becoming the Republican Party’s presidential candidate in this year’s election, it will be interesting to see how the age factor plays out for him, and for Joe Biden, the candidate for the Democratic Party. Trump is 78 while Biden is 82 years old.
[i] MAGA: Make America Great Again
[ii] GOP: Grand Old Party