Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis argued Wednesday that fellow White House hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy’s push to withdraw from the Colorado ballot is “just playing into the left.”
Asked on Newsmax’s “Newsline” if he would follow Ramaswamy’s pledge after the state Supreme Court ruled to ban former President Trump from the ballot under the 14th Amendment, DeSantis said “no.”
“I think the case will get overturned by the [U.S.] Supreme Court, but I’ve qualified for all the ballots and I’m going to accumulate the delegates necessary,” DeSantis, the governor of Florida, predicted.
“That’s the whole name of the game in this situation, but I do anticipate that that decision will get reversed,” he added.
Ramaswamy’s vow to remove himself came in the wake of the Centennial State’s decision disqualifying Trump over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on the Capitol, citing the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. The court ruled the former president participated in the insurrection through his false claims of election fraud and rallying of supporters.
The clause states those who took oaths to support the Constitution cannot engage in a rebellion against it, and questions have circulated over if the office of the presidency falls under the clause. The court’s 4-3 ruling stated the office of the presidency is considered in the clause, overturning a lower court’s decision.
Calling the ruling an “actual attack on democracy,” Ramaswamy urged DeSantis and his other GOP primary rivals to remove themselves as well and not endorse “this illegal maneuver.”
The Florida governor was among several GOP candidates to voice criticism of the ruling.
On the campaign trail in Iowa on Wednesday, DeSantis slammed the ruling as a “stunt” by Democrats and the media to “solidify support” for Trump in the GOP primary.
He argued Democrats and the media are trying to get Trump into the general election and make it about “all this legal stuff.”