House Democrats Panic, Move to Stop Trump from Ever Holding Office Again - Report
Whatever happens in the coming 2024 election for president, House Democrats seem very fearful of having to face former President Donald Trump — so much so that they reportedly are trying to pass a law barring him from ever running for office again.
Trump announced Tuesday night that he had filed his Federal Election Commission paperwork to run for president, saying in an address from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, that “America’s comeback starts right now.”
“Two years ago, we were a great nation and soon we will be a great nation again,” he said. “In order to make America great and glorious again I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States.”
If elected, Trump would be only the second U.S. president after Democrat Grover Cleveland to serve two nonconsecutive terms in the White House. Cleveland, who was elected president in 1884, lost his re-election bid in 1888 but won in 1892.
There has already been a lot of talk — from people on both sides of the aisle — about how Trump couldn’t win again and shouldn’t even try. But some Democrats in the House of Representatives reportedly want to make sure he has zero chance of returning to the White House.
Politico reporter Nicholas Wu tweeted Wednesday about a preventative measure to have the former president permanently barred from office because he incited an “insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021.
Wu said the initiative came from Rhode Island Democratic Rep. David Cicilline, who was also a House impeachment manager.
The tweet said the congressman “is circulating a letter to Dems rounding up support for legislation to bar Trump from office under the 14th Amendment.”
Wu shared Cicilline’s letter, which reads, in part, “This language in our Constitution clearly intended to bar insurrectionists from holding high office in the United States.”
“Given the proof — demonstrated through the January 6th Committee Hearings, the 2021 impeachment trial, and other reporting — that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection on January 6th with the intention of overturning the lawful 2020 election results, I have drafted legislation that would prevent Donald Trump from holding public office again under the Fourteenth Amendment,” the letter said.
“The legislation details testimony and evidence demonstrating how Donald Trump engaged in insurrection against the United States,” Cicilline wrote.
“It specifically details how Donald Trump engaged in insurrection when he helped to plan and encouraged the insurgence on January 6th despite knowing that the election results were lawful,” Cicilline continued.
The letter goes on to claim that Trump “attempted to intimidate state and federal officials when they did not support his false claims and unlawful plans” and “tried to manipulate [then-Vice President] Mike Pence into unlawfully refusing to certify the election results, despite Mr. Pence’s and legal advisors’ assertion that he held no such authority.”
Cicilline also claimed that Trump “supported the violent insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th, refusing for hours to denounce or act against the mob and putting thousands of lives in danger.”
Cicilline says “The legislation details testimony and evidence demonstrating how Donald Trump engaged in insurrection against the United States.” pic.twitter.com/vMIuKQLdfZ
— Nicholas Wu (@nicholaswu12) November 16, 2022
The 14th Amendment, which was ratified after the Civil War, reads, in part, “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office” who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the [United States government].”
Still, some of the claims in Cicilline’s letter lack veracity. For instance, Trump did release a video on Jan. 6, 2021, telling his supporters to go home.
But even before the Capitol incursion began, he had told the crowd at his rally in Washington to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard today” regarding their concerns about the 2020 election. He did not call for violence.
Trump was not the only Republican to express doubts about the 2020 election. Some GOP lawmakers objected to the certification of the election for Democrat Joe Biden by Congress. But soon, the perimeter around the Capitol was breached and people entered the building.
Also, despite the letter’s claims, the House select committee on Jan. 6 still has not officially “found” that Trump incited insurrection.
House Democrats aren’t the only ones going on the offensive against the former president. The White House launched an attack during Trump’s announcement Tuesday, tweeting from Biden’s account that “Donald Trump failed America.”
Donald Trump failed America. pic.twitter.com/fylyocYcse
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 16, 2022
It’s clear that Democrats are alarmed about the former president’s 2024 campaign and will be doing whatever they can to destroy his candidacy as soon as possible.
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