Ramaswamy pledges to ‘withdraw’ from Colorado ballot amid Trump removal

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy pledged to withdraw from the GOP primary ballot in Colorado following a ruling Tuesday from the state’s Supreme Court to remove former President Trump from the ballot over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. 

Colorado’s highest court kicked Trump off the state’s Republican primary ballot under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection clause” in a 4-3 ruling. The court affirmed Trump engaged in insurrection by inflaming his supporters with false claims of election fraud and directing them to the Capitol. Colorado became the first state to block Trump from seeking the presidency because of his role in the Capitol attack. 

The insurrection clause prohibits the holding of “any office … under the United States” if a person engaged in insurrection after swearing to “support” the Constitution as “an officer of the United States.” The Colorado Supreme Court determined the clause covers the office of the president.

“I pledge to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary unless Trump is also allowed to be on the state’s ballot, and I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley to do the same immediately — or else they are tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver which will have disastrous consequences for our country,” Ramaswamy said in a statement, calling out his fellow candidates in the GOP presidential primary.

“This is what an *actual* attack on democracy looks like: in an un-American, unconstitutional, and *unprecedented* decision, a cabal of Democrat judges are barring Trump from the ballot in Colorado,” Ramaswamy said.

The court in Colorado put its ruling on hold until Jan. 4, so Trump can first seek review from the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump’s spokesperson quickly vowed to do so, meaning Trump’s name automatically remains on the ballot until the justices in Washington resolve the appeal. 

“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” the state Supreme Court wrote in its decision. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”  

The seven-member bench of Colorado’s Supreme Court was entirely appointed by Democratic governors. Six later faced voters and won retention elections, while the seventh will do so next year