Trump celebrates ‘big win’ after Supreme Court hands him victory in ballot eligibility case

Former president Donald Trump celebrated a personal victory on Monday morning after the Supreme Court overturned Colorado’s decision to remove him from its presidential primary ballot under Section Three of the 14th Amendment.

For months, Mr Trump had been fighting Colorado, as well as other states, for invoking the novel “insurrection clause” to disqualify him from the state’s primary.

The former president was accused of aiding an insurrection through his rhetoric on January 6, 2021.

But the Supreme Court intervened, saying states do not have the power to remove presidential primary candidates from their ballots under Section Three of the 14th Amendment.

Mr Trump called the court’s unanimous decision a “big win for America” in a post on Truth Social.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures at a campaign rally, March 2, 2024, in Richmond, Va. The Supreme Court has restored Donald Trump to 2024 presidential primary ballots, rejecting state attempts to hold the Republican former president accountable for the Capitol riot.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s legal team, led by Harmeet K Dhillion the managing partner of the Dhillion Law Group, said that the victory “is not just for President Trump but for the integrity of our electoral system and the rights of voters across the country.

“The attempt to use the 14th Amendment in this manner was a dangerous overreach that, if left unchallenged, could have set a perilous precedent for future election,” Mr Dhillion said.

Voters in at least 16 states, including Colorado, had teamed up with organisations to try and remove Mr Trump from their ballots under the 14th Amendment.

Section Three prohibits those who have taken part in insurrections or aided enemies