Ramaswamy Will Remove Himself From Colorado Ballot, Too

If Donald Trump is not on the Colorado ballot, Vivek Ramaswamy doesn't want to be, either. The Republican presidential candidate says he will withdraw from the state's GOP primary ballot to protest the Colorado Supreme Court's Wednesday ruling that ordered Trump be left off the ballot due to his involvement in the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol. "I pledge to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary unless Trump is also allowed to be on the state's ballot, and I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley to do the same immediately—or else they are tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver which will have disastrous consequences for our country," Ramaswamy said in a statement cited by the Hill. More:

• "This is what an *actual* attack on democracy looks like: in an un-American, unconstitutional, and *unprecedented* decision, a cabal of Democrat judges are barring Trump from the ballot in Colorado," the statement continues. Trump's name remains on the ballot while the former president's legal team appeals to the US Supreme Court.
• Christie also came out with a statement, the Hill reports. "What I will say is I do not believe Donald Trump should be prevented from being President of the United States, by any court," he says. "I think he should be prevented from being the President of the United States by the voters of this country." Christie also pointed out that Trump has never been tried in court on the grounds on which he is being kept off the ballot (the constitutional amendment that bars insurrectionists from seeking office).

• Haley echoed Christie, the Des Moines Register reports. "I will tell you that I don't think Donald Trump needs to be president. I think I need to be president. I think that's good for the country," she told reporters after a campaign event. "But I will beat him fair and square. We don't need to have judges making these decisions, we need voters to make these decisions."
• DeSantis had not released a response as of this writing, but he was also making headlines related to the Colorado primary, which takes place on Super Tuesday (March 5). "To qualify for the CO primary ballot, the state party requires that candidates post something on social media that announces their excitement while encouraging their followers to follow the state party's social media accounts for updates about the state party primary and events. I'm excited to officially be on the ballot for the Colorado primary!" the Florida governor posted on X. It was meant to be a "deadpan" joke regarding the Colorado Republican party's requirement, per Florida Politics, but it fell flat on X, where the tweet was widely mocked. That site and Newsweek round up reactions.

(More Election 2024 stories.)