Omar Bennett
Former US President Donald Trump's legal team has argued that he did not swear an oath to support the Constitution, and therefore cannot be barred from running for office again in 2024. The argument is based on the wording of the US Constitution's insurrection clause, which states that no person can be elected to any office within the US if they have previously taken an oath to support the Constitution and subsequently engaged in insurrection or rebellion. Trump's lawyers claim that he swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution during his 2017 inauguration, and that the presidency is not an office under the United States. This defence has been criticised by some, including Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who called the idea that the presidency is a get-out-of-jail-free card for insurrection incredibly surprising.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of Inauguration | 20 January 2017 |
| Oath | "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States" |
| Trump's Claim | Trump claimed he did not swear an oath to 'support' the Constitution |
| Trump's Lawyers' Claim | Trump's lawyers argued that he never swore to "support" the Constitution |
| Legal Argument | The wording of the U.S. Constitution's insurrection clause does not apply to Trump as he swore to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution, not to "support" it |
| Court Ruling | A lower court judge ruled that Trump had "engaged in insurrection" on 6 January but that he should remain on Colorado's primary ballot as the wording of the 14th Amendment does not mention preventing people from running for the presidency |
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What You'll Learn
Trump's oath of office
On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump took the oath of office and was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. The oath of office comes directly from Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution.
Trump placed his left hand on an old Bible, raised his right hand, and repeated the words read by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. from the Constitution:
> "I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help me God."
Trump's legal team has argued that he never swore to "support" the Constitution. They claim that the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause, which states that no person can be elected to any office within the United States if they have previously taken an oath to support the Constitution and subsequently engaged in insurrection or rebellion, does not apply to him because he swore to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution, not to "support" it.
In a previous ruling, a lower court judge agreed that Trump had "engaged in insurrection" on January 6, the day of the Capitol riot, but ruled that he could remain on Colorado's primary ballot as the wording of the 14th Amendment does not specifically mention preventing people from running for the presidency. This ruling has been criticized by some, including Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who stated that "the idea that any official who would engage in insurrection would be barred from taking office, except the presidency, is incredibly surprising."
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The 14th Amendment
Former President Donald Trump's legal team has argued that he never swore an oath "to support the Constitution". They claim that Trump swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution during his role as president, and that the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause does not apply to him. The 14th Amendment, passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868, extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people. It also granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States", thereby granting citizenship to those previously enslaved.
Section 1 of the 14th Amendment formally defines United States citizenship and protects various civil rights from being abridged or denied by any state law or state action. In Shelley v. Kraemer (1948), the Supreme Court held that the 14th Amendment's historical context of countering the discriminatory Black Codes of Southern states must be used in its interpretation. The most commonly used and frequently litigated phrase in the amendment is "equal protection of the laws", which has figured prominently in a wide variety of landmark cases, including Brown v. Board of Education (racial discrimination), Roe v. Wade (reproductive rights), and Bush v. Gore (election recounts).
In the context of Trump's legal arguments, Section Three of the 14th Amendment has been cited by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Republican figures as the basis for their lawsuit arguing that Trump's actions on January 6, 2021, violated the Amendment. Trump's lawyers have countered that the presidency is not an office "under the United States" and that Trump did not take an oath "to support the Constitution". They argue that the framers of the 14th Amendment purposefully excluded the President from Section Three and that the wording of the insurrection clause does not apply to him.
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The insurrection clause
> No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
The clause was added to the Constitution in the aftermath of the Civil War to address concerns about bringing former Confederates, who were seen as insurrectionists, back into public office. It was intended to prevent individuals who had engaged in insurrection or rebellion from holding public office again, even if they had not been convicted of a crime.
In recent years, the insurrection clause has been invoked in relation to former President Donald Trump and his involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Six residents in Colorado sued to have Trump disqualified from appearing on the state ballot in the 2024 presidential election, arguing that his actions on January 6 violated the insurrection clause. Trump's legal team has countered that the clause does not apply to him because he did not take an oath to "support" the Constitution, but rather to preserve, protect and defend it during his inauguration in 2017. They argue that the difference in wording between the insurrection clause and the presidential oath of office means that the clause was not intended to apply to the President.
The interpretation of the insurrection clause and its applicability to Trump has been a subject of legal debate, with lower courts ruling that Trump engaged in insurrection but could still run for president. The Colorado Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal on the lawsuit, and the case has sparked discussions about the role of the presidency and the potential implications for holding public office after engaging in insurrection.
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Trump's legal defence
In November 2023, Donald Trump's legal team argued that a constitutional provision that would disallow him from running for the presidency again in 2024 should be ignored. They claimed that Trump never made an oath, as president, to "support" the Constitution. This argument was presented in response to a lawsuit filed by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) watchdog group and Republican figures, who sought to prevent Trump from appearing on the Colorado state ballot in 2024.
Trump's lawyers contended that the wording of the U.S. Constitution's insurrection clause, as outlined in Section Three of the 14th Amendment, does not apply to him. They argued that Trump swore to "'preserve, protect and defend' the Constitution during his role as president, rather than to "support" it. According to Trump's legal team, the framers of the 14th Amendment intentionally excluded the office of the President from Section Three, as evidenced by the specific wording of the oath. They asserted that if the framers had intended to include the President, they would have used different language in the oath.
In a previous ruling, lower court judge Sarah B. Wallace agreed with this interpretation, stating that while Trump had "engaged in insurrection" on January 6, 2021, during the Capitol riot, he should remain on Colorado's primary ballot as the 14th Amendment does not specifically mention preventing individuals from running for the presidency. However, this ruling has been criticized by Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who argued that the idea that a person who engages in insurrection cannot be barred from the presidency is "incredibly surprising."
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The presidential oath
> "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
The oath is usually taken with the President-elect's hand on a Bible, and the swearing-in marks the beginning of the four-year term of office.
In 2017, Donald Trump took the Presidential Oath of Office, swearing to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. However, in 2023, Trump's legal team argued that he did not swear to "support" the Constitution, and therefore could not be barred from running for office again, despite allegedly violating the 14th Amendment. The argument hinges on the specific wording of the insurrection clause in the U.S. Constitution.
Trump's lawyers claim that the authors of the amendment purposefully created the difference in language between the insurrection clause and the Presidential Oath. They argue that the 14th Amendment was never intended to apply to the President. This argument has been criticised by some, including Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who said:
> "The idea that any official who would engage in insurrection would be barred from taking office, except the presidency, is incredibly surprising... That basically means that the presidency is a get-out-of-jail-free card for insurrection."
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Frequently asked questions
No, Trump's legal team has argued that he never swore an oath to "support" the constitution. Instead, they claim that he swore to preserve, protect and defend the constitution during his inauguration in 2017.
The oath of office is a requirement for the President-elect, and it symbolizes the continuity of democratic rule and the peaceful transition of power.
There were attempts to remove Trump's name from the ballot in the 2024 elections in multiple states, including Colorado, due to his alleged violation of Section Three of the 14th Amendment. However, Trump's lawyers argued that the amendment's wording does not apply to the President.
