Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is threatening to remove President Biden from the election ballot as other states make efforts to disqualify former President Trump from securing a second term over his actions during the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide whether Trump can appear on Republican primary ballots in Colorado after the state Supreme Court ruled he couldn’t, citing the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause.
The high court sided with a lower court that ruled Trump incited his supporters as Congress was certifying Biden’s 2020 election victory. The Colorado Supreme Court decision was the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was used to bar a presidential contender from the ballot.
Maine’s secretary of state decided Trump should be removed from the ballot for the same reason. Trump is appealing that decision.
On Friday, Ashcroft, a Republican, said the efforts in Colorado and Maine were “disgraceful” and “undermines our republic.”
“While I expect the Supreme Court to overturn this, if not, Secretaries of State will step in & ensure the new legal standard for @realDonaldTrump applies equally to @JoeBiden !,” Ashcroft wrote on X.
“I’m not in favor of going down this path. But if we will go down this path, it’s inevitable, if the Supreme Court does not stop this,” Ashcroft told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “The rules will be applied equally. I just hope they will not be the rules of Colorado and Maine.”
Republicans have heavily criticized Democrats for attempting to remove Trump from 2024 presidential election ballots, saying it undermines the will of voters.
Last month, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggested taking Biden off the ballot because of his handling of the southern border.
“Seeing what happened in Colorado tonight … makes me think — except we believe in democracy in Texas — maybe we should take Joe Biden off the ballot in Texas for allowing 8 million people to cross the border since he’s been president, disrupting our state far more than anything anyone else has done in recent history,” Patrick said in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on “The Ingraham Angle.”
In a letter submitted to the high court, more than a dozen states signaled their support for Trump, including Missouri.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Ashcroft’s office. A White House spokesperson responded with “No” when asked for comment.
