Rich has an event to attend and, consequently, “America’s Radio Guest Host” Mike Opelka hosts the 4th hour of the show!
In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot bar Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from participating in the 2024 election—and, consequently, he cannot be removed from state ballots. Only Congress, according to the Court, is capable of enforcing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, barring an individual guilty of participating in an insurrection from holding elected office. In the main opinion, the Justices write that “the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates…The Constitution empowers Congress to prescribe how those determinations should be made. The relevant provision is Section 5, which enables Congress, subject of course to judicial review, to pass ‘appropriate legislation’ to ‘enforce’ the Fourteenth Amendment…The ‘patchwork’ that would likely result from state enforcement would ‘sever the direct link that the Framers found so critical between the National Government and the people of the United States’ as a whole.” You can read the court’s full decision here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/04/us/supreme-court-ruling-trump-colorado.html
While appearing on MSNBC following the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of Donald Trump, Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold said that she was disappointed by the decision and that “it’ll be up to the American voters to save our democracy in November.” Colorado’s State Supreme Court had ruled that Trump was barred from holding office for his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
On Sunday, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley won her first primary contest—Washington D.C. Though she earned nearly 63% of the vote, Opelka notes that she received less than 1,300 votes total.
While speaking at event in Selma, Alabama marking the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris called on Israel and Hamas to agree upon a ceasefire immediately.