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The Political Scene | The New Yorker

Why the Trump Ballot Case Is the Ultimate Test of Originalism

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

The New Yorker

Lizza, Obama, Wickenden, Wnyc, News, Politics, Washington, President, Barack

4.33.9K Ratings

🗓️ 8 February 2024

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that has the potential to remove Donald Trump from the ballot in Colorado, and possibly across the country. At issue is the Fourteenth Amendment provision that prohibits the leader of an insurrection from holding office, and whether the clause can be applied to Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore, along with other notable historians, wrote an amicus brief that contextualizes the law. “This court has made momentous decisions in the last few years, certainly in the last two decades, in the name of an originalist interpretation of the Constitution,” she tells Tyler Foggatt. “And the only originalist interpretation of the Constitution available to them in this case is that Donald Trump cannot run for President of the United States.”

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Transcript

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This court has made momentous decisions in the last few years,

1:18.0

certainly in the last two decades, in the name of an originalist interpretation of the

1:23.1

Constitution. And the only originalist interpretation of the Constitution available to them in this case is that Donald Trump cannot run for President of the United States.

1:37.8

That's my colleague Jill Lippor. Jill has written extensively about the origins of a small, rarely-sided clause in the Constitution

1:45.8

that prevents public officials from taking office again if they have aided or led an insurrection.

1:51.8

That clause is now at the heart of a new Supreme Court case that could remove Donald Trump from the ballot in Colorado and in other states.

1:59.4

And so I wanted to ask Jill about the history and stakes at play in this case and what the results

2:04.4

could mean for Trump and for the country.

2:07.0

You're listening to the political scene.

2:09.1

I'm Tyler Foggett and I'm a senior editor at The New Yorker.

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