Member-only story
Even Tyrants Must Bow To The Will of Voters*
The law should bar them from trying again when they don’t.
Had Trump lost the 2016 election and set out to delegitimize a Hillary Clinton victory through insurrection, there would be no discussion under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment whether he is disqualified from a 2024 presidential run. A demonstrated history of refusing to accept the outcome of an election he lost and insurrecting to overturn that election would not keep him off future ballots.
The only difference between the above hypothetical and today’s reality is that on January 20, 2017, Trump swore an oath to support the Constitution.
C’mon, now. The oath was just words. No one believed him, anyway. The country had just elected a known serial liar. We knew he was lying because we could hear his voice. Besides, every member of Congress and the Senate swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. How many of them violate the oath and betray the Constitution on a regular basis? About 147 immediately come to mind. And without consequence to their next election!
It is true that felons, tyrants, despots, scoundrels, charlatans, fascists, Nazis…