It’s a big day for the right-wing outrage machine.
Donald Trump was ruled to be ineligible for Colorado’s presidential primary ballot after he promoted, encouraged and refused to stop the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection. The aftermath of Tuesday’s decision by the Colorado Supreme Court has become a Super Bowl of sorts for inflammatory take artists in the conservative movement, who have sprung into action to impress upon Americans why their dear leader should elude accountability.
Keep in mind: Republicans have essentially been preparing for this moment since the evening of the riot itself. The right’s repeated efforts to downplay and dismiss the violence — beginning with the members of Congress who voted in the rioters’ favor that night — were designed to give Trump’s anti-democracy efforts a veneer of legitimacy.
As was the Republican National Committee’s framing of Jan. 6 as “legitimate political discourse.” And the right-wing conspiracy theories about Jan. 6 being a “false flag” operation. And the GOP’s attempts to portray the insurrectionists as political prisoners. All of these have effectively served as pre-emptive defenses for the inevitable moments, like Tuesday, when Trump and his associates would be held accountable.
In other words, a lot of hand-wringing and histrionics from purported constitutionalists, who seem horrified that the Constitution’s text might actually be applied to Trump.
And in the aftermath of the Colorado ruling, GOPers are resorting to an assortment of “why I oughta” and “you’ll be sorry” reactions. In other words, a lot of hand-wringing and histrionics from purported constitutionalists, who seem horrified that the Constitution’s text might actually be applied to Trump.
Trump’s primary opponents largely rushed to his defense, claiming that the ruling was a leftist power grab. I also noted a trend of ostensibly Trump-averse conservative media personalities — like Frank Luntz and Erick Erickson — arguing that the ruling will come back to haunt Democrats. (This seems to be the chosen line of attack from GOPers who purport to dislike Trump but still support the party he leads.)
Online, a number of Trump’s allies are claiming that Colorado’s decision is a frightening denial of voters’ right to elect Trump. “Let the voters choose,” these people cry … despite the fact that this litigation exists only because Trump refused to accept voters’ preference for Joe Biden.
This particular crop of whiners — headlined by folks like House Speaker Mike Johnson, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Donald Trump Jr. — all portrayed the Colorado justices’ carefully deliberated process as an overtly partisan act.
“Regardless of political affiliation, every citizen registered to vote should not be denied the right to support our former president,” Johnson wrote on X, without an inkling of irony. (I’ll note here that Johnson was an extremely active participant in Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election.)
Today’s ruling attempting to disqualify President Trump from the Colorado ballot is nothing but a thinly veiled partisan attack.
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) December 20, 2023
Regardless of political affiliation, every citizen registered to vote should not be denied the right to support our former president and the… https://t.co/yMm4wTb1K8
And then there are Republicans in a class of their own when it comes to coping with Colorado’s ruling. Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana, for example, went all “reefer madness,” writing on X: “It’s Colorado. They’re high. SCOTUS will overrule THC.”
Republicans have dismissed and downplayed the seriousness of Jan. 6 for almost three years. Now, it seems they’re raging against a court ruling that has pierced their bubble of conspiracy theories with facts about the carnage committed in Trump’s name.
Media: “Congressman Higgins, what’s your opinion regarding the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling that Trump cannot be on the Presidential ballot?”
— Rep. Clay Higgins (@RepClayHiggins) December 19, 2023
Me: “It’s Colorado. They’re high. SCOTUS will overrule THC.”
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.