Freind: Trump deserves to be on the ballot in every state

Christmas may have come early for Donald Trump.

By way of Colorado.

In an unprecedented ruling, the Centennial State’s Supreme Court disqualified the former president from appearing on the Republican primary ballot in 2024. And why?

Because Trump allegedly violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which bars those from holding office who engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States.

I’m not sure I’ve ever been so dumbfounded, bewildered or astounded.

How? How can someone be denied ballot access when he has not been charged with, much less convicted of, insurrection?

How can the most fundamental of American rights be sidestepped when one hasn’t even been judged by his peers?

Have we really reached the point where the hallowed principle of innocent until proven guilty no longer carries the unassailable weight it once did?

People can despise Donald Trump all they want. And they are certainly free to think that he engaged in insurrection. But since when do we sanction American citizens on beliefs rather than convictions?

To be clear, I never thought the 2020 election was rigged or stolen.

But the ultimate irony is that this decision likely plays in Trump’s political favor, because from now on, whenever he rails against the system being rigged, some who previously thought otherwise will now think he has a point.

In that light, if Trump doesn’t rehash the last election on the campaign trail but instead focuses on the numerous reforms that could improve our elections while calling out government overreach, he will likely expand his base of support, perhaps dramatically.

Voters want candidates to focus on the huge array of problems facing them: border security, energy independence, foreign wars, mounting debt, inflation and tenseinternational relations, to name a few.

But they also want to know that their leaders will prioritize protecting the sanctity of American elections. And on that paramount issue, The Donald, of all people, may yet claim the high ground. Who’d have thunk it?

The way I see it, he’s poised to win the day no matter what the U.S. Supreme Court rules, assuming it hears the case. If the court overrules the Colorado decision, Donald Trump wins big.

If it doesn’t, Donald Trump still “wins” because he can campaign against the system with significantly more credibility than he had after the 2020 election.

That doesn’t mean he’ll win the White House, but no matter how you slice it, I think the Colorado case gives his campaign a shot in the arm since many see the situation as not just a question of guilt or innocence, but whether the law is being administered fairly and without prejudice.

One point worth addressing is the feeling among some that the Colorado decision isn’t a big deal since Trump was not likely to win that state anyway.

In other words, since Colorado doesn’t figure into Trump’s electoral path to victory, the ruling doesn’t really matter.

It’s true that Colorado is an uphill challenge for the Trump campaign, but that should be irrelevant. If Colorado today, what other state tomorrow?

To me, the inescapable irony is that, for all the talk that Trump is the biggest threat to American democracy, it’s the Colorado decision that poses the greatest danger toour freedom.

And I shudder to think how the country could be further divided if Donald Trump lost a close election that he could have won but for him being kept off the ballot in key swing states.

To be clear, this isn’t a defense of Trump’s actions and words over the years, but an unequivocal defense of his right to be judged innocent until proven otherwise.

And, to reiterate, he hasn’t even been charged with insurrection.

Donald Trump should be accountable to only one entity: the electorate.

And barring charges and a conviction, it is we the people — and only we the people — who should decide whether an elected official is fit for office.

Due process should never be bypassed or compromised. That’s why we have objective investigations and fair trials.

The Founding Fathers came up with an ingenious mechanism for removing officials from office: elections, where voters decide whether leaders have earned a return ticket.

That’s Civics 101, and it’s something we need to remember so that power doesn’t get usurped from the people.

Love him or hate him, Donald Trump deserves his day on the ballot in all 50 states. Here’s a New Year’s wish hoping that he gets that chance.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist and commentator whose column appears every week. He can be reached at CF@FFZMedia.com.