Does Section 3 of the 14th Amendment forever ban Trump from the White House?

The debate swirls, but the bottom line is more about practicalities than law

There is an ongoing debate about whether Section 3 (a/k/a the “Disqualification Clause”) of the 14th Amendment bars former President Donald Trump from holding office again given his role in the attempt to overturn the 2020 election, which culminated in the January 6th insurrection. It raises several important questions with serious implications for American democracy — and it’s not going away. Which is why it makes sense to take some time to understand it.

I spoke about it on ABC News Live.

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I also debated the question with Senior Editor for the Atlantic, David Frum, for NPR’s Morning Edition. Take a listen…

Any bottom lines?

Yes.

There are three inescapable bottom lines on this, which I flagged as a looming question for the 2024 election back in February of 2020 for Politico Magazine, as Joshua Zeitz recently explained:

What are they?

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