Disqualifying Trump Under the 14th Amendment: Exploring the Case For and Against

There’s a strong case for disqualifying Donald Trump from the presidency. One that finds even <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/us/trump-jan-6-insurrection-conservatives.html" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">multiple conservative</a> <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/08/donald-trump-constitutionally-prohibited-presidency/675048/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">legal scholars</a> in agreement. Others, however, argue that disqualification would be anti-democratic, among other reasons. This article will analyze both sides of the argument as applied to <a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/section-3/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Section 3 of the 14th Amendment</a>. I will attempt to use plain language to make sense of the legalese. By the end you’ll understand why Trump’s name may not even appear on the ballot of many states in 2024. <h1>The history of section 3 of the 14th Amendment</h1> When most people think of the 14th Amendment, they probably first think of equal protection and due process. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is often an afterthought because it has been <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10569" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">used infrequently</a>, primarily in the years immediately following the Civil War. Its history dates back to postbellum America when lawmakers were concerned about insurrections and rebellions after the Civil War. It was designed to prevent Confederates from returning to the federal government after rebelling against the U.S. Constitution. In particular, please note the bolded language in section 3 of the 14th Amendment: <a href="https://medium.com/the-political-prism/disqualifying-trump-under-the-14th-amendment-exploring-the-case-for-and-against-c8ee2eca0639">Click Here</a>