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We the People

Is President Trump Disqualified from Office Under the 14th Amendment?

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.61.1K Ratings

🗓️ 31 August 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Two constitutional law scholars—Will Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen—recently published an in-depth article arguing that President Donald Trump is disqualified for running for reelection under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. In this episode, law professors Mark Graber and Michael McConnell join host Jeffrey Rosen to discuss what Section 3 means and how it applies to disqualification from office; whether President Trump's actions qualify as engaging in insurrection; whether or not Section 3 is self-executing and who can enforce it, and more.   Resources:  William Baude & Michael Stokes Paulsen, “The Sweep and Force of Section Three” (Aug. 2023)  Mark Graber, “Their Fourteenth Amendment, Section 3 and Ours,” Just Security (Feb 2021)   Mark Graber, Punish Treason, Reward Loyalty: The Forgotten Goals of Constitutional Reform After the Civil War (2023)  Michael McConnell, Responding About the Fourteenth Amendment, “Insurrection,” and Trump, Volokh Conspiracy (Aug. 2023)    Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr.  Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. You can find transcripts for each episode on the podcast pages in our Media Library.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Two scholars, Will Boed and Michael Paulson,

0:03.0

have published an article arguing that President Donald Trump

0:06.0

is disqualified for running for re-election

0:08.0

by Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

0:11.0

Hello, friends. 14th Amendment. Hello friends, I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution

0:18.3

Center and welcome to We The People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.

0:23.0

The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit,

0:26.2

chartered by Congress to increase awareness

0:28.7

and understanding of the Constitution

0:30.6

among the American people.

0:32.4

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment prohibits anyone who's previously taken an oath of office

0:37.0

from holding public office if they've engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States.

0:43.2

In this episode, we the people will discuss what Section 3 means,

0:47.1

whether President Trump's actions qualify as engaging in insurrection,

0:51.4

whether or not Section 3 is self-executing, and who can enforce it?

0:55.0

Joining me to discuss these important constitutional questions are two of America's

0:59.6

leading experts on the 14th Amendment.

1:02.4

Mark Graber is University System of Maryland

1:04.6

Regents Professor at the University of Maryland

1:07.1

Francis King Carey School of Law.

1:09.8

He's the author of many books and articles

1:11.9

about constitutional law, and his most recent book is

...

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