Former President Donald Trump is embroiled in a desperate struggle to reclaim the presidency while simultaneously fending off potential legal consequences. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has dealt a significant blow to Trump’s ambitions by excluding him from the 2024 primary election ballots, citing his role in the January 6 Capitol riots.
Bellows, in a filing on Thursday, accused Trump of fueling the Capitol chaos through baseless claims of election fraud and directing his supporters to the Capitol during the pivotal certification of the 2020 election results.
Undeterred, Trump fired back with a campaign fundraising message to his supporters on Friday, denouncing the decision as a “tyrannical assault” on voting rights and branding Bellows a “dictator.”
Simultaneously, Trump faces a legal battle in Colorado, where Republicans are urgently seeking intervention from the US Supreme Court. This move comes in response to a groundbreaking state Supreme Court ruling that disqualified Trump from the 2024 ballots in Colorado, citing his constitutional ineligibility for office due to his alleged involvement in the Capitol riot in 2021.
Amidst these challenges, Trump found a brief respite in California, as Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber opted not to block him from the state’s ballot, allowing his name to appear on the list of certified 2024 candidates sent to county election officials.
Trump’s efforts to regain political standing and avoid potential legal consequences paint a picture of a once-powerful figure engaged in a frantic battle to shape his political future.