WASHINGTON — Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold called former President Donald Trump a “liar” after he described state efforts to kick him off 2024 Republican primary ballots as “election interference.”
“Trump is a liar with no respect for the Constitution,” Griswold said in an interview on MSNBC on Saturday.
Trump’s opponents and left-leaning organizations have been pushing states to reject the former president from 2024 ballots, arguing he is disqualified from running for president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The section bars someone from holding federal office if they have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or “given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
Trump’s conduct leading up to and during the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, his critics argue, meet that part of the 14th Amendment, disqualifying him from the ballot.
“To say that a section of the 14th Amendment is ‘election interference’ and considering how to uphold the Constitution is ‘election interference’ is un-American,” Griswold said. “We know that the former president is a liar who will do everything he can to hold on to power.”
“One of the reasons that this situation is so unprecedented is we’ve never had a president try to steal the presidency and then have the audacity to try to run for office,” Griswold continued.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal watchdog organization, sued Griswold last week in state district court to bar her from allowing Trump’s name to appear on the GOP primary ballot.
Griswold said she herself can’t decide whether Trump is eligible to run: “Ultimately, it’s good for a court to weigh in.”
“It’s not a cut and dry case and that’s why it’s important that we’re seeing this litigation,” Griswold said.
Colorado is not the only state where groups have sought to keep Trump off the ballot in the race for the White House. Efforts have also spread in key primary states such as New Hampshire, Michigan and Arizona.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Liar’: Colorado official rips Donald Trump on 2024 ballot efforts