Liberal journalists hail removing Trump from Colorado ballot as a win for democracy: ‘Clear as day’

Left-leaning journalists and media outlets expressed their support for the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove former President Trump from the 2024 primary ballot, condemning those who might oppose the move. 

Though many of these talking heads, including The Lincoln Project’s Rick Wilson, anti-Trump commentator George Conway, and The New York Times’ Mara Gay, have spent years claiming that Trump’s actions are a threat to democracy, they reiterated their support for the Colorado state Supreme Court removing Trump. 

The court made the controversial decision Tuesday night, invoking the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment to declare that Trump is ineligible for the White House and removing him from the state’s presidential primary ballot.

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NYT Editorial Board member Mara Gay told MSNBC hosts Wednesday that those disputing the legitimacy of the Colorado Supreme Courts decision to bar Trump from the state ballot puts them in league with confederate traitors to the U.S. Constitution.

The decision marks the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate, setting up a likely showdown in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Despite a multitude of prominent conservative figures calling the decision election interference, prominent mainstream media figures and progressive leaders applauded it, insisting that the top contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination deserves to be taken out of the running. 

Gay, a left-wing New York Times Editorial Board member, justified the court’s move in an appearance on MSNBC. After host Joe Scarborough mentioned Republicans’ arguments that the voters decide who the primary winner is, Gay accused them of siding with "Confederate traitors."

"Why are you standing with Confederates who betrayed this country?" she asked, adding, "And this is what they’re standing with, is this spirit of those Confederates rather than the Americans who came together after a long and brutal Civil War that was fought to keep this union together."

Gay continued, stating the Reconstruction-era Americans "clearly saw a threat in ex-Confederates running for office, so much so that they amended the Constitution to prevent those traitors from running for office. That should send a message that our electoral system can be used for nefarious purposes against the democracy itself."

"It’s clear as day," she concluded, claiming that the decision fits a proper interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.

Rick Wilson of The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group that proclaims its dedication "to the preservation, protection, and defense of democracy," taunted Trump in a video, saying that the court "called you out for what you are. You’re a filthy insurrectionist. You’re a losing loser who loses. You are a guy who was disqualified from a state primary ballot."

The Lincoln Project shared that video with the caption, "Trump is a criminal through and through, and now courts are finally calling him out for what he is. Listen to @TheRickWilson call out Trump for being the insurrectionist and loser that he is."

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Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington President Noah Bookbinder posted on X, "The court’s decision is not only historic and justified, but is necessary to protect the future of democracy in our country. Our Constitution clearly states that those who violate their oath by attacking our democracy are barred from serving in government."

MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan expressed his support for Bookbinder’s post, commenting, "Well done."

Prominent anti-Trump lawmaker Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., whose X account bio claims he is "fighting for our democracy," supported Trump’s removal from the ballot. He posted to the platform, "The Colorado Supreme Court just ruled Donald Trump is disqualified from the ballot — and from holding office — under the 14th Amendment. Accountability for inciting an insurrection."

He added, "It’s about time."

Anti-Trump attorney George Conway also joined MSNBC Wednesday and defended the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision. 

"And in fact, there’s no basis to challenge the findings. When you go to the majority opinion and you read the 30 or 40 pages or – I don’t know how many there are – on what happened on January 6th and what Donald Trump did before and during January 6th, there’s no dispute," he said.

"We saw it on television. We know what happened. He fomented – he engaged in an insurrection," Conway said, later adding, "He was an enemy of the Constitution."

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold called in to MSNBC’s "The Beat with Ari Melber" on Wednesday to express her opinion on the decision. She admitted, "Look, I believe [Trump] incited the insurrection. There were big questions around Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, and the Colorado Supreme Court has weighed in a very loud way, making themselves clear."

When asked if she was surprised by the decision, she called it "unprecedented" because "we’ve never had a president try to steal the presidency and engage in insurrection ever before."

During Wednesday’s episode of "CNN This Morning," John Avlon argued that Colorado’s court made the correct decision.

"The Constitution says what it says," he said. "The Colorado Supreme Court decided that the Constitution still matters, and it applies to Donald Trump. The 14th Amendment, Section 3 specifically says, we had the language up there, that no person who took an oath to uphold the Constitution and engages in an insurrection or rebellion and gives aid or comfort to said insurrection or rebellion, is eligible to hold any office. That’s the language. Any office. Civil or federal."

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Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., recently expressed his support for Colorado's Supreme Court removing former President Trump from the state's primary ballot. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Danny Karon, an attorney and law professor, doesn’t think liberal pundits should be so eager to spike the football. 

"Dems shouldn’t be too quick to celebrate the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling because come end of the process, the Colorado court’s decision will only make Trump stronger," Karon told Fox News Digital.  

"The U.S. Supreme Court has the authority to review decisions from state supreme courts. So not only are Trump’s lawyers already petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Colorado decision, but the Supreme Court is certain to accept review," Karon continued. "And when it does, the Court -- fueled by its six-judge conservative majority that Trump helped assemble -- is certain to reverse the Colorado decision likely on the basis that the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to the president." 

Karon feels that the "victory" for Democrats will ultimately "enhance Trump’s brand and encourage even broader support for him" in the near future.  

Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

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Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.