Colorado Sec of State disappointed by Trump SCOTUS victory: Now 'up to American voters to save our democracy'
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold expressed "disappointment" Monday at the Supreme Court's 9-0 decision that her state cannot bar former President Trump from appearing on the ballot in 2024, saying it was now up to voters to "save our democracy."
Ahead of Super Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued an unanimous decision against the case brought by the state of Colorado to remove Trump from the ballot, which argued he was disqualified from public office under the 14th Amendment for causing an "insurrection" in 2021.
"My larger reaction is disappointment," Griswold said on MSNBC. "I do believe that states should be able under our constitution to bar oath-breaking insurrectionists."
"Ultimately, this decision leaves open the door for Congress to act to pass authorizing legislation, but we know that Congress is a nearly non-functioning body," she added. "So ultimately, it will be up to the American voters to save our democracy in November."
In December, Colorado's highest court ruled that under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, Trump's conduct on Jan. 6, 2021, applies to a president despite not being explicitly indicated in the text.
"No person shall… hold any office… under the United States… who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States… to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof," the Constitution states.
"President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president," the state court wrote in an unsigned opinion. "Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the election code for the secretary to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot."
The justices previously issued an administrative stay that ordered Griswold to put Trump's name back on the GOP primary ballot until the case was decided. Legal experts widely expected the decision in favor of the former president.
Griswold said she would have liked the decision sooner but added she wasn't surprised by the outcome based on how the oral arguments went. She added the Supreme Court has "issued bad decisions on democracy" but would respect its ruling in spite of her disagreement.
She also doubled down on her view of Trump as a violent insurrectionist.
"I think the larger picture is it's as clear as day what Donald Trump did," she said. "He incited that violent mob to rush onto the Capitol to try to stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power. His attacks and his allies' attacks on our democracy have not stopped."
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Griswold added "they are already laying the groundwork to undermine 2024."
Although the decision was unanimous, MSNBC host Katy Tur asked Griswold if she thought the Supreme Court was "partisan."
"I think this court has had obviously some pretty big issues," Griswold said. "Whether it has been Clarence Thomas’ wife’s role, gifts that have gone unreported, and there are some pretty big decisions that have come out of the the court that I highly disagree with, and I think strip Americans of our basic human rights and fundamental freedoms. With that said, we live in a country of rule of law. We have to respect the court’s decisions while disagreeing with them. And honestly, I think that’s something that MAGA Republicans could take a lesson from."
In February, following the oral arguments at the Supreme Court, Griswold warned that keeping Trump on the ballot would be a "danger" to America's future.
"If the justices were to accept Trump's arguments that he is fully above the Constitution, that insurrectionists deserve a place on the ballot and potentially an office, that will be a grave day for this country and a danger to our longevity as the United States," she said.
Fox News' Brooke Singman and Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report.