An MSNBC political analyst said removing former President Donald Trump off of the ballot is not a “substitute” for President Joe Biden’s popularity.
MSNBC political analyst Anand Giridharadas said while the “rule of law” is catching up to Trump, his removal from the ballots in Colorado and Maine is not a win for Biden.
“I think in terms of regular people and voters who don’t want Trump to become a permanent American dictator, don’t want him to win in 2024, people are getting way too excited about this,” Giridharadas said on “Morning Joe” Friday. “This is trying to win a sports game by praying for rain and hoping for injuries, right? Those things may happen, and if they do happen, great. But they are not a substitute for building a bigger, better movement than his movement and defeating him in the marketplace of ideas. And I think when I look at regular people’s excitement about this, when I look at how ablaze social media gets when these kinds of state ballot decisions are made, people get too excited because it’s becoming an alibi for actually building a more powerful movement.”
He said Democrats have not found the “bigger, better movement” or message to counter Trump.
“When I have these conversations kinda privately with folks on the Democratic side, on the left more broadly, I think there’s a real acknowledgment right now, that in that real competition of ideas, there is not a bigger, better movement right now. There is not a bigger, better message right now. There’s accomplishments, there’s reality, there’s a belief in democracy compared to what Donald Trump offers. But right now, the only thing that matters in ’24 is building a bigger, better, more galvanizing, more thrilling movement than his movement and I think if you’re a regular person, all this stuff is a distraction.”
“Let it play out, but let this not be your politics,” he added. (RELATED: CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig Goes At It With George Conway Over Trump’s Eligibility)
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in a Dec. 14 decision to disqualify Trump from the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which states that no person should hold public office if they “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”
Democratic Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced that Trump will remain on the primary ballot while the state Republican party’s appeal of the decision is pending in the courts.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows ruled to remove Trump from the ballot Thursday evening after hearing cases from three separate challengers who alleged he violated the 14th and 22nd Amendments. One attorney challenging Trump’s candidacy argued the former president violated the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which sets a two-term limit for presidents, since Trump claimed he had won the 2020 election.