New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) said Sunday he thinks it’s possible that decisions in Colorado and Maine to leave former President Donald Trump off the primary ballots in those states could actually help the former president’s narrative.
Sununu said being left off the ballot would “boost his opportunity to play that victim card down the road.” His comments came on State of the Union with CNN’s Dana Bash.
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The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump should be left off the primary ballot in the state before Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said he would remain on the ballot while the ruling is appealed.
A similar decision came out of Maine when Shenna Bellows, the state’s secretary of state, ruled, “Mr. Trump’s primary petition is invalid.” She made her decision known Thursday. The move was largely condemned by Republicans.
The rulings that Trump should be left off the ballot revolved around claims involving the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause.
Sununu weighed in Sunday, saying removal from ballots may play into a narrative peddled often by Trump — the idea of the former president’s victimhood.
“This would only … boost his opportunity to play that victim card down the road as we hit the primaries. It’s not helpful at all, and I just don’t think it’s right,” Sununu said, according to CNN.
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Section Three of the 14th Amendment reads: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”
Proponents of using the section to disqualify Trump from the 2024 ballot say he incited an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, in reference to his actions regarding the riot at the U.S. capitol that day.
