President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he thought it was “fine” for former President Donald Trump to remain on the ballot for this year’s election.
In response to a reporter who asked whether Trump should “be allowed on the ballot,” Biden said, “As far as I’m concerned, that’s fine.”
Biden made the remark shortly before he boarded Marine One for Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, from which he departed for a trip to Florida.
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Last month, Biden said Trump “certainly supported an insurrection”.
“Whether the 14th Amendment applies, I’ll let the court make that decision,” he told reporters on December 20.
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments next week in the Colorado ballot case, which could affect whether Trump can stay on the primary ballot in that state and others.
Colorado’s Supreme Court ruled last month that Trump violated a provision of the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which states that “an officer of the United States” who has “engaged in insurrection” cannot hold office and is therefore ineligible as a candidate.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that a president is not considered an “officer of the United States” and that he did not “engage in insurrection”.
“The Court should reverse on these grounds and end these unconstitutional disqualification efforts once and for all,” Trump’s lawyers said in a brief submitted to the Supreme Court this month.
Biden has frequently framed the November election as being about preserving democracy, often pointing to the insurrection on January 6, 2021.
“This is the first national election since January 6th insurrection placed a dagger at the throat of American democracy — since that moment. We all know who Donald Trump is,” Biden said in a speech about democracy, marking three years since the insurrection.
“The question we have to answer is: ‘Who are we?’ That’s what’s at stake.”
A reporter asked Biden on Tuesday why Trump was leading in polls, “if he is a threat to democracy, as you say”.
“Because guys like you,” Biden said, laughing, before he said he was teasing.
