Donald Trump turns attention to immunity fight after Supreme Court win in ballot case

Supreme Court unanimously dismissed a state court ruling that could have barred Trump from 2024 ballot

America’s top court has agreed to hear former US president’s claim he is immune from criminal prosecution

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Donald Trump speaking on Monday in the library at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:21pm, 5 Mar 2024Updated: 1:26pm, 5 Mar 2024

Donald Trump lauded the US Supreme Court’s reversal of his disqualification from Colorado’s ballot, but quickly turned his attention to another big case before the justices by publicly lobbying for presidential immunity from prosecution.

“I have great respect for the Supreme Court. And I want to just thank them for working so quickly and so diligently and so brilliantly,” the former president said in Florida on Monday after the justices ruled in his favour by barring states from disqualifying candidates for federal office based on a constitutional provision concerning insurrection.

The question before the nine justices was whether Trump was ineligible to appear on the Republican presidential primary ballot in Colorado because he engaged in an insurrection – the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol by his supporters.

On Monday, the top court ruled that “responsibility for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the States” – and that the principle applied “especially (to) the Presidency”.

Donald Trump arriving to speak on Monday. Photo: AP

The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War, was aimed at preventing supporters of the slaveholding breakaway Confederacy from being elected to Congress or from holding federal positions.