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Secretary of State 'will follow constitution' regarding keeping Trump on ballot
Now there is talk of whether individual states can keep Trump off the primary ballot. It is the latest twist in what has been a string of firsts for presidential politics.
FOX 2 (WJBK) - Former President Donald Trump is running for president in 2024 amid four recent, yet separate indictments.
Now there is talk of whether individual states can keep him off the primary ballot. It is the latest twist in what has been a string of firsts for presidential politics.
"Every time we think we've seen it all, something else happens," said Dave Dulio, professor of Political Science, Oakland University.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson weighed in on the issue on a Michigan Information and Research Service News podcast Monday.
"That is something that a lot of legal scholars are weighing in on right now," said Benson, a Democrat. "I think the bottom line for me, is we’re going to follow the law, we're going to follow the constitution. We're going to see how these constitutional and legal questions - which are not cut and dry - play out, in the months ahead."
This is where some say the 14th Amendment comes into play, specifically Section 3 — which prohibits anyone who has previously taken an oath of office from holding public office if they have "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States."
Dulio says if the political maneuver is successful, it will only energize Trump's base further.
"I think that if Donald Trump is barred from being on the ballot in Michigan or any of the other states, I think you will see his supporters rally around him even more than they already have, (and) become more staunch in their support," said Dulio.
Benson says it is too soon to assess the likelihood of whether or not Trump’s name will be withheld from Michigan’s Primary ballot
"I have said for, really since 2020, that this presidential cycle in 2024, is, I believe, in many ways going to be the grand finale of all the bumps and the challenges we’ve seen and endured since the 2020 election cycle, maybe even 2016."
And when it comes to former President Trump the legal situation is far from settled, Dulio cautions.
"He’s not been convicted of anything yet," he said. "The legal process is just going to continue to play out with more and more angles appearing every day, right? We're really going to peel back this onion in so many different ways."