For an alternate viewpoint, see “Counterpoint: Trump Failed the First Test of the American Experiment.”
Entering the 2024 election year, the Supreme Court is holding all the cards — for better or worse. Chief Justice John Roberts appears reluctant to have his court determine the outcome of the 2024 election. Yet, our uncharted waters may ultimately force his hand.
As we approach a critical juncture in American politics, the fate of the next president seems poised to rest on the decisions of nine unelected Supreme Court justices. How did we even get here?
It is evident that the challenges on the horizon, including the filing by Donald Trump’s team to revisit the 14th Amendment decisions in Maine and Colorado, serve as a preview for the bitter partisanship ahead.
This is a dark moment in U.S. history. American voters are now consumed by courtroom drama and legal tit-for-tats when they should be focused on more pressing issues. What should be a battle for the direction of our nation — with two sides stating their respective cases — has turned into an outright mess, with one side attempting to bar their chief opponent from even competing in the first place. We should be discussing tangible issues, such as the economy. We should be debating solutions to the other problems as consumers grapple with $35 entrees, $6 coffees and worse.
The political discourse should focus squarely on President Biden and his economy. With a 34 percent approval rating, Biden is one of the most unpopular presidents in history. Americans have lost faith in his ability to tackle the economy — to the extent that there was even faith in the first place. Incomes have failed to keep up with rising prices, yet the president continues to promote Bidenomics as some silver bullet.
At the same time, the border crisis has never been worse, as undocumented immigrants flood into the United States, some bringing criminal activity with them. The December migrant surge at the border is the largest in more than two decades, with authorities encountering more than 225,000 migrants in a matter of weeks. Yet, where are the solutions to the immigration problem? Where is the accountability from the administration?
These questions are not being asked because of the partisan attempts to bar Trump from 2024 primary ballots. Let’s face it: Democrats have sought to undermine Trump ever since he announced his presidential candidacy in 2015, riddling him with claims of “Russian collusion” (disproven) and other nonsense. These latest legal proceedings are par for the course — the logical extension of a years-long push to vilify anything and everything Trump-related.
Trump and the American people are eager for closure on the 14th Amendment challenges in 14 states, and it’s time they got it. The Supreme Court should act quickly to state its position on the matter. As former assistant attorney general Jeffrey Clark notes, Trump has neither been charged nor convicted of insurrection in a criminal court, so there is no justification for the legal overreach we see today. In his words: “The Supreme Court of the United States needs to cut through this nonsense with rapid quickness.”
Americans cannot endure an entire election season with the looming question of “insurrection” hanging over us. The matter must be resolved promptly, and it should go in Trump’s favor. A spade is a spade: This is nothing but petty politics.
Clark has made a compelling case for the justices to address the constitutionality question and expedite their decision, and they have responded in recent days. The Supreme Court will rightly take on the 14th Amendment case and, it is hoped, put this entire saga behind us. This question of constitutionality should under no circumstance hang over the 2024 election, so it needs to be resolved now.
While Trump’s team has expressed nervousness over a potential Supreme Court decision, as there is no indication that it will be a sure win for the former president, I am confident that most Americans believe he should be able to run. Most Americans recognize partisanship for what it is: partisanship, plain and simple. And, whether they are pro-Trump or not, most Americans want a fair fight.
Will Trump be allowed to win a second term? Those struggling in America cannot afford to wait.
