A CNN host and the Missouri Secretary of State repeatedly talked over each other during a heated debate about former President Donald Trump being removed from the ballot in two states.
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft threatened to remove President Joe Biden from the ballot in his state if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in Colorado and Maine’s favor to disqualify Trump. The two states removed Trump from the ballot by citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which states no individual can hold elected office if they “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
CNN host Boris Sanchez argued the states are given constitutional authority to decide how their elections are run. Ashcroft said the Supreme Court has ruled in several instances that a state does not have the power to determine who can run for president, and argued Maine had a “total lack of due process” and “misunderstanding of the 14th Amendment.”
The Secretary of State further argued the Colorado Supreme Court’s Dec. 19 decision to remove Trump lacked due process. He said Section 3 of the 14th Amendment does not specifically mention the presidency and that Trump needs to be convicted for the “insurrection ban” to apply to him. He plans to file a brief to argue the removal of candidates from the ballots is “catastrophic” to the U.S. (RELATED: ‘Complete Chaos’: Andy McCarthy Issues Ominous Warning On Trump’s SCOTUS Case)
“If Democrats can do it, you know that Republicans will do it and if Republicans will do it, then Democrats will do it more,” Ashcroft argued.
He then disputed the CNN host’s claim that the Missouri state constitution would require him to go to court to remove Biden from the ballot.
“Sir, sir, what I’m saying is, sir, what I’m saying is if the Supreme Court upholds the ruling out of Colorado, and what—” Ashcroft began.
“That went to court to disqualify Donald Trump from the ballot,” Sanchez interrupted. “So you, according to your state constitution would have to go to court.”
“You are not listening, sir, sir, sir, let’s just be clear. First of all, you’ve already said you’re not an attorney and you don’t know what happened in Colorado,” the Secretary of State said. “I was happy —”
“I know what happened in Colorado, sir, what I said was I didn’t read through all of the evidence specifically to be able to qualify whether there was here say or not,” Sanchez continued. “To get back to my question, you said you would decide to remove Joe Biden from the ballot. According to your state constitution, which I just read to you from, it says you need to go to court. I’m asking you what you think your strongest argument is.”
“And I continue to try to answer your questions, and you continue to try to tell me stuff that just isn’t true,” Ashcroft pushed back.
“That’s not factual, sir,” the host said.
The two continued to talk over each other as the host demanded that Ashcroft answer his questions about the state constitution and potentially removing Biden. Simultaneously, Ashcroft continued to attempt to answer the host’s question.
Ashcroft argued the decisions in Colorado and Maine set a dangerous precedent for future elections as it would grant state election officials to remove whomever from the ballot. He called on the U.S. Supreme Court, which recently agreed to deliberate on the Colorado case, to strike down the decisions to prevent this precedent.
He then argued there are allegations that Biden engaged in an insurrection, leading Sanchez to interrupt in dispute.
“No, please let me finish,” Ashcroft said.
“You can’t say something like that and not back it up,” the host interrupted. “What do you mean?”
“I am continuing, but you interrupted me before I could back it up,” Ashcroft replied.
“Go ahead, sir,” the host said.
“Are you scared of the truth?” Ashcroft asked.
“Oh, I am not terrified of the truth at all. It seems like you might be, let’s see what you have to say,” the host interrupted.
Ashcroft cited an allegation from Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick, who argued Biden should be removed from the ballot over the border crisis. He also named Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said Saturday his state is considering whether Biden can be removed from the state ballot.
The CNN host then defended Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows for disqualifying Trump by arguing the state constitution grants her that power. Ashcroft disputed his argument, casting doubt that a state official can decide whether Trump is on the ballot or not.