Does the Constitution bar Donald Trump from running again for the presidency?

A number of courts have been asked to decide whether the 14th Amendment disqualifies Trump from a second term, given his activities on Jan. 6. The key provision is Section 3. It expressly prohibits “any person” from holding “any office” if they have sworn to uphold the Constitution “as an officer of the United States” and have subsequently “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” In Colorado, closing arguments will take place this week in a trial aimed at keeping Trump off the primary ballot. And in a remarkably fast ruling, the Minnesota Supreme Court last week held that state law does not block a political party from allowing unqualified candidates to run in its primary, and so the secretary of state could go ahead and print a Republican ballot with Trump’s name on it. The court, notably, did not rule on whether or not Trump was unqualified, saying that the question would have to wait for another day.

The Minnesota decision and the looming Colorado case will rapidly move to the Supreme Court in Washington for a decisive resolution of the meaning of the disqualification clause. Normally, the justices would take months to consider the merits of such an important issue and reach a decision only in June 2024, at the end of their present term. Nevertheless, it would be a tragic mistake for the court to delay its decision when the two cases arrive on its docket. After all, the first Republican primary is scheduled for Feb. 24. Colorado and Minnesota will be among 15 states holding a Republican primary on Super Tuesday, March 7. By the end of March, voters will have already chosen more than half the delegates to the Republican National Convention. If the court doesn’t resolve the question of Trump’s qualifications by mid-February, its passivity will predictably lead to a shattering crisis in the coming presidential election.

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