4-3 decision by Colorado’s all-Democrat state Supreme Court, former President Trump faced exclusion from the potential 2024 presidential ballot, invoking the Fourteenth Amendment’s insurrection clause.
According to insights shared by former Bush adviser Karl Rove in a Fox News interview on Saturday, December 23, 2023, this development may inadvertently serve to galvanize Trump’s support among Republicans.
Rove emphasized that the legal move could transform into a substantial fundraising opportunity for the former president, tapping into the frustrations of Republicans who perceive the decision as unjust.
“It serves to energize the Trump supporters and to give the former president a chance to raise more money from people who are suddenly going to be angry about what’s going on,” Rove asserted during the broadcast on “The Story.”
The political strategist highlighted the potential backlash against the decision, portraying it as an unfair and inappropriate maneuver that might propel Trump’s popularity among his base.
Citing a New York Times poll, Rove delved into public sentiment, revealing that 45% of Americans believed legal actions against Trump were politically motivated, with half of them convinced that he had committed serious crimes.
Notably, the 50% figure skewed heavily toward Democrats, comprising 93%, while a significant portion of Republicans, about four-fifths, held contrasting views.
Rove suggested that the decision to exclude Trump from the 2024 ballot could amplify the perception of political bias among many Republicans, fueling a collective backlash.
Rove also underscored a potential risk of hypocrisy for the Democrats in their deployment of the insurrection clause.
He drew attention to historical examples where Democratic lawmakers, affiliated with the Confederacy and involved in insurrectionary activities, were not barred from public office.
The prime illustration was former Confederate Vice President Alexander Hamilton Stephens, a Democrat from Georgia, who eventually became the governor of Georgia after serving in the U.S. House.
Rove drew parallels to more recent Democratic leaders who lauded the actions of former Confederates, citing John F. Kennedy commending the “Profile in Courage” of former Sen. Lucius Q.C. Lamar, a Democrat from Mississippi.
Despite his Confederate past, Lamar received accolades, including a Supreme Court nomination by former President Grover Cleveland.
Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, echoed Rove’s sentiments, emphasizing the potential strategic misstep by Democrats.
Chaffetz suggested that Democrats were inadvertently strengthening the Republican narrative by taking actions that seemed contrary to their proclaimed principles.
Chaffetz underscored what he perceived as irony in the Democrats’ claim of “saving democracy” while simultaneously restricting opposition candidates’ access to the presidential ballot.
The former Utah representative contended that Democrats, in their pursuit, might unintentionally be contributing more to the Republican cause than Republicans could achieve independently.
