Staunch anti-Trumper and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has come out in opposition to the recent Colorado ruling barring former President Donald Trump from the state’s ballot.
Speaking before a group of supporters at a campaign stop on Tuesday, Christie said that the voters should decide on if Trump should be president, not a group of judges.
“What I will say is I do not believe Donald Trump should be prevented from being President of the United States by any court,” Christie said. “I think he should be prevented from being the President of the United States by the voters of this country.”
President-elect Donald Trump and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at Trump International Golf Club on November 20, 2016, in New Jersey. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Christie added that he does not believe it would be “good” for the United States if Trump were kept off the ballot by a court. He felt that the former president’s rights should only be stripped if he were found guilty in a court of law by a jury of his peers.
“I think it’s bad for the country if that happens,” Christie said. “Now, the other reason I believe that is because, you know, he will have had to incite insurrection, be a part of an insurrection for him to be excluded. There’s been no trial of him on that.”
Christie said he hopes this shows that he does not “hate” the former president.
“So I know it will be counterintuitive to a lot of people who listen to me about Donald Trump, but I hope it just goes to prove [to] you: I don’t hate him at all,” Christie said. “I just think what he’s done is horribly wrong and that he has reserved the right that we would give him as voters [the chance] to lead us again.”
As Breitbart News reported on Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled “in a 4-3 opinion that the Constitution’s ‘Insurrection Clause’ prohibits former President Donald Trump from appearing on the ballot for the presidency in 2024.”
“The court found by clear and convincing evidence that President Trump engaged in insurrection as those terms are used in Section Three” of the Fourteenth Amendment, the ruling read.
The ruling will partially reverse a previous ruling from Colorado District Court Judge Sarah Wallace, who ruled in November that the Fourteenth Amendment would not apply in the case of former President Trump, being that he is not an officer of the United States as was defined at the time of the amendment’s ratification following the Civil War.
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
