Donald Trump Finds Unlikely Ally in Maine

Representative Jared Golden has come out in opposition of the decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the 2024 primary ballot in his state, saying "we are a nation of laws."

Golden, a Maine Democrat, made the comment in a statement released on Thursday just hours after Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows removed Trump from the ballot, arguing he is ineligible to serve as president again because of the Constitution's 14th Amendment, which blocks those who engaged in "insurrection or rebellion" from serving in certain posts.

The move, and a similar decision to remove Trump from the ballot by the Colorado Supreme Court, could upend the 2024 Republican primary contest, which polling indicates the former president is well placed to win. Trump's legal team has vowed to appeal the Colorado and Maine decisions, and the dispute could end up being decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a statement released on X, formerly Twitter, in response to Bellows' decision, Golden said: "I voted to impeach Donald Trump for his role in the January 6th insurrection. I do not believe he should be re-elected as President of the United States.

"However, we are a nation of laws, therefore until he is actually found guilty of the crime of insurrection, he should be allowed on the ballot."

Trump is facing criminal charges at the federal level and in Georgia over allegations he broke the law attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election result. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts and insists the cases against him are politically motivated.

Following the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, when hundreds of his supporters stormed Congress in a bid to stop certification of Joe Biden's victory, Trump was impeached for "incitement of insurrection." It failed to receive the two-thirds majority required in the Senate to convict, resulting in Trump being acquitted on February 13, 2021.

Golden's stance put him in agreement with Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, who said: "Maine voters should decide who wins the election – not a Secretary of State chosen by the Legislature.

"The Secretary of State's decision would deny thousands of Mainers the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice, and it should be overturned."

On Thursday, Bellows, a Democrat, announced that Trump would be removed from the Maine primary ballot after determining he was not eligible to serve as president again because of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. It prohibits those who after taking an oath to defend the Constitution engaged in "insurrection or rebellion" from holding "any office, civil or military." Trump vowed to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States" during his inauguration on January 20, 2017.

Justifying her decision, Bellows said: "I do not reach this conclusion lightly. Democracy is sacred...I am mindful that no secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

"I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection. The oath I swore to uphold the Constitution comes first above all, and my duty under Maine's election laws, when presented with a Section 336 challenge, is to ensure that candidates who appear on the primary ballot are qualified for the office they seek."

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said the Republican front-runner's team would "quickly" appeal Bellows' decision.

"Democrats in blue states are recklessly and un-Constitutionally suspending the civil rights of the American voters by attempting to summarily remove President Trump's name from the ballot," he said.

"Make no mistake, these partisan election interference efforts are a hostile assault on American democracy. Biden and the Democrats simply do not trust the American voter in a free and fair election and are now relying on the force of government institutions to protect their grip on power."

Newsweek has reached out to representatives of Trump by email for comment.