Declaring that the events of Jan. 6, 2021, were, in fact, an “insurrection,” Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) has removed former President Donald Trump's name from the state's 2024 primary ballot.
Appearing on MSNBC Thursday night, Bellows said there was a “very compressed timeline” in evaluating the case and that she “could not, unfortunately – or fortunately – wait for the United States Supreme Court to make a decision” on Trump's eligibility.
Bellows proceeded to brag about Maine's voter participation rate.
The decision elicited a firestorm of controversy. Bellows' critics ranged from Elie Honig, CNN's senior legal analyst to Maine state Rep. John Andrews (R), who signaled plans to impeach the state's top election official.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard was especially scathing, calling the decision “dangerous” last night during an interview with Fox News' Pete Hegseth.
The Daily Caller has the transcript:
“I think it's really important Pete, for every single American who is seeing this news alert pop up to recognize how dangerous this is,” Gabbard told “Hannity” guest host Pete Hegseth. “You have a secretary of state who is a known partisan, who is known to be against Trump, she supported the impeachment of Trump, single-handedly making this decision to say the former president cannot be on the ballot, taking away our right as voters in this country to decide who we want to serve as our next president and commander in chief.”
The Colorado Republican Party appealed the state's supreme court decision Wednesday.
“Is this in the DNA of the modern Democrat Party?” Hegseth asked. “I mean, we're seeing it through political persecution, but if they could, would they remove him from the ballot altogether?”
“Yes, I have no doubt about that,” Gabbard responded. “This is the M.O. of the Democrat elite. They will stop at nothing to try to maintain their power, even if it means taking away the right to vote of Americans. They have no issue taking Trump off the ballot, they have no issue pursuing him and persecuting him through a weaponized and politicized Department of Justice. They have no qualms doing whatever they feel is necessary to hold on to power. It is ridiculous that we are having this conversation in the United States of America.”
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