Former President Donald Trump on Thursday denied being an “insurrectionist” while labeling President Joe Biden as one, while citing as proof factors like the “open” border and accusing the president of “destroying” America with radical anti-fossil fuel policies.
“I’m not an insurrectionist (‘PEACEFULLY & PATRIOTICALLY’), Crooked Joe Biden is,” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social, with the words “peacefully & patriotically” in reference to a fragment of his Jan. 6 speech in which he told members of the crowd to head to the Capitol building “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the former president’s claim.
President Trump’s remarks came two days after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled to bar him from the state’s presidential primary ballot on the basis of a section of the 14th Amendment that blocks anyone from running for office who engaged in an “insurrection.”
The former president called the Colorado court’s ruling a politically motivated decision and a “shame for our country,” while his attorneys vowed to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
President Biden declined to comment on the Colorado Supreme Court decision but told reporters there was “no question” that the former president was an insurrectionist.
“Is Trump an insurrectionist, sir?” one reporter called out, prompting President Biden to walk closer to the cameras, asking the reporter to repeat the question.
“I think that’s certainly self-evident, you saw it all,” President Biden answered.
‘Insurrectionist’ Tit-for-Tat
President Trump accused President Biden of being an “insurrectionist” once again on Thursday, this time laying out a more extensive rationale.“Crooked Joe Biden is the Insurrectionist because he let millions of unknown people come recklessly and unchecked through our insane ‘Open’ Border, let a war begin in the Middle East and Ukraine, Weaponized our DOJ & FBI, SURRENDERED in Afghanistan when we could have left with dignity and strength—the most embarrassing event in the history of our Country, and is destroying America with the GREEN NEW SCAM!!!” the former president said in a post on Truth Social.
The former president has repeatedly criticized President Biden for his lax border policies, which he says are responsible for an illegal immigration crisis of historic proportions. President Trump has also accused the president of pulling strings to get the Justice Department to launch various investigations and charges against him to undermine his 2024 presidential campaign—claims President Biden has denied.
President Trump has also repeatedly criticized the incumbent for his anti-fossil fuel policies that he says are undermining America’s energy independence and national security. He, by contrast, has vowed to reverse President Biden’s policies if elected and “drill, drill, drill.”
The Ruling
The Colorado Supreme Court’s Dec. 19 ruling centered on a section of the 14th Amendment that bars officials who have engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” from holding office.The left-leaning group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued the Colorado secretary of state to block President Trump from appearing on the ballot, arguing that “officer of the United States” would surely cover the highest office in the federal government, and so the 14th Amendment’s disqualification clause should apply.
Judge Wallace did, however, find that President Trump engaged in an “insurrection,” and, on appeal, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. president is a public “officer,” and so the 14th Amendment’s disqualification clause does apply.
Jan. 6 Backdrop
President Trump held a rally near the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, in which he made statements encouraging his supporters to march to the Capitol, where Congress was in the process of certifying the results of the presidential election.While President Trump called for the day’s events to be peaceful, a group of people breached the Capitol, leading to a violent confrontation with law enforcement.
The events of that day have been the subject of widespread scrutiny and debate, with President Trump’s political opponents accusing him of inciting an “insurrection.”
The “insurrection” allegations underpin several legal efforts by President Trump’s opponents to block him from being listed on ballots in the 2024 presidential race on 14th Amendment grounds, seeking to portray him as the instigator of the Jan. 6 incident.
These cases basically argued that the former president took part in an “insurrection” by giving an impassioned speech on Jan. 6 before the Capitol breach occurred.
Even though President Trump said in his Jan. 6 speech that protesters should “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” his critics have seized on a portion of his remarks where he said “we fight like hell” and “if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore” as a call for violence.
The former president has, on numerous occasions, denied calling for violent protests while insisting he meant his remarks about fighting like hell metaphorically.
