A Republican official in Missouri has threatened to give President Joe Biden the same treatment that Democrats are giving to former President Donald Trump as the 2024 election draws closer. Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans have been engaged in a nationwide effort to remove Trump’s name from the ballot in as many states as possible using the 14th Amendment as their justification.
On Friday, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft wrote a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, referencing decisions made in Colorado and Maine to disqualify Trump from seeking office and indicating Republican officials in other states might do the same.
What has happened in Colorado & Maine is disgraceful & undermines our republic. While I expect the Supreme Court to overturn this, if not, Secretaries of State will step in & ensure the new legal standard for @realDonaldTrump applies equally to @JoeBiden!
Ashcroft’s remarks come the day after it was announced that the U.S. Supreme Court will review Colorado’s ruling removing Trump from the ballot. It is expected that the court will begin hearing the case in February.
During an interview with NBC News, Ashcroft explained that his post was intended to “remind people of how severe this is” and noted that, while he is confident the Supreme Court will strike down the 14th Amendment stratagem, if this does not happen, “chaos is ahead and we’ve got to avoid it.”
Ashcroft told NBC News that he plans to file an amicus brief with the Supreme Court arguing against using the 14th Amendment, which mandates that those involved in a rebellion against the government be barred from holding office.
Ashcroft said he plans to file an amicus brief — in support of neither party — warning the Supreme Court of what he believes will happen if Colorado’s disqualification is allowed to stand.
"If Democrat states are saying we're not going to let these Republicans run, you bet you're going to see the same thing happening from Republican states. And it's not good," Ashcroft said. "If you're playing a basketball game and the other team doesn't have to dribble the ball, eventually you're going to say, 'Why am I worried about dribbling the ball?'"
The Missouri official, who is running for governor in 2024, also explained the rationale behind potentially removing President Biden from the ballot and how the 14th Amendment could be exploited to this end.
Asked how he would disqualify Biden from the ballot for insurrection, Ashcroft said that he's "let an invasion unstopped into our country from the border." Vice President Kamala Harris, he added, "supported people that were rebelling against the U.S. government during the riots in 2020," referring to racial justice protests in the wake of George Floyd's murder.
Ashcroft’s warning is apt. When it comes to using the 14th Amendment to influence the outcome of the upcoming election, Democrats could have opened a can of worms that could backfire on them. After all, what is stopping Republicans from deciding that what is good for the Orange Goose is also good for the Geriatric Gander?
A 14th Amendment tit-for-tat battle would likely result in even more division and political tension as both sides use a provision in the Constitution in ways that it was clearly not intended. It was originally meant to be applied to former members of the Confederacy.
Of course, there is only one way to stop this: The U.S. Supreme Court. If it rules against the use of the provision to attack Trump, then it would all but crush the effort in other states. Unfortunately, we won’t know what will happen until at least next month.