China’s Global Times state propaganda outlet in commentary on Wednesday decried America’s allegedly “chaotic judicial system” and the use of the law “as a political weapon” while addressing the Colorado Supreme Court ruling to remove former President Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential primary ballot.
In a controversial ruling likely to make its way to the federal Supreme Court, Colorado’s top judicial entity declared on Tuesday that Trump was not legally allowed to run for president again on the grounds that he had “engaged in insurrection” for remarks made prior to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. The court applied a never-before-used provision of the Fourteenth Amendment to make its conclusion, leading many to question the legal logic of the ruling, particularly given that Trump has not been indicted on insurrection grounds, charged with sedition, or otherwise legally accused of any relevant criminal activity.
Trump has faced similar legal cases in other states – New Hampshire, Minnesota, and Michigan – but, outside of Colorado, won them all. Following the ruling on Tuesday, legal authorities in California and Maine stated publicly they are considering similar action to keep Trump off the ballot.
Following the ruling, the Colorado Supreme Court received support from Trump’s potential election rival, incumbent President Joe Biden, who claimed that Trump “certainly supported an insurrection … no question about it.”
American case law defines an insurrection as “a violent uprising by a group or movement acting for the specific purpose of overthrowing the constituted government and seizing its powers.” It is typically understood to require organized and premeditated violence, rather than the eruption of a mob scene or other spontaneous violent scenarios.
The legal processes potentially blocking Trump’s ongoing presidential campaign from obtaining places on state ballots contrast significantly with the processes in China’s legal system, governed by an opaque communist bureaucracy that actively persecutes political dissidents and nearly all forms of religious expression. The Communist Party also weaponizes the legal system against lawyers, imprisoning those who focus on human rights defense cases and publicly disparaging them as “rabblerousers” in need of state punishment.
Despite the lack of due process and any meaningful legal defense in China, the Global Times took the liberty of condemning the United States for the existence of disputes surrounding Trump’s presidential campaign – as well as for the existence of the Democrat and Republican parties in general. Democrats, a Chinese pro-regime “expert” told the newspaper, were “undemocratic” despite their “self-aggrandizing claim” to protecting American institutions.
“The attitudes of both parties further reflect the rottenness of American politics, and that the law now seems to be exerted as a political weapon,” the Global Times asserted.
The Chinese state mouthpiece predicted the Trump case would aid in “further unfolding the rottenness of US politics” because the court is attempting to curtail Trump’s “political rights” – rights that do not exist in China, which does not hold presidential elections for all citizens.
“The US is a country that has always been perceived as having many loopholes with constant internal quarrels, and political chaos is indeed the essence of American politics,” the propaganda outlet declared.
While apparently disapproving of the Colorado ruling, the Global Times also predicted that Trump winning the 2024 presidential election could destroy the United States.
“If he [Trump] were [to be elected president], the procedural justice of the US would be difficult to maintain,” the outlet claimed. “No political system can withstand continuous shocks. The current American political system is the result of the preservation by generations, and a few more shocks may lead to a collapse, a fact which is of great concern to Americans.”
In a separate report on Wednesday, however, the Chinese state outlet predicted that the ruling would help “boost” Trump, as he “does not need Colorado to win next year’s presidential election,” but outrage against the ruling could galvanize Trump supporters.
“Commenting on whether the decision of the Colorado court has impacted Trump’s support rate, experts believe the impact would be quite small, and may even give him an advantage,” the article read, quoting an alleged Chinese regime-approved “expert.”
“The matter has room for interpretation in both the legal and political fronts, and Trump is likely to interpret it from a political perspective. This may further reinforce the perception among his supporters that he [Trump] is a victim, creating a sense of sympathy that strengthens their support for him,” the expert said.
Another such expert commented that the ruling did not necessarily reflect on Colorado, but on the Democrats and their “determination to bring down Trump, whatever it takes.”
Recent polls show Trump leading Biden in a potential general election showdown. On Tuesday, a survey published by Harvard and Harris showed Trump receiving 47 percent of the votes from respondents, compared to 42 percent for Biden and 12 percent who said they were not sure. Most recent polls also show Trump soundly defeating Republican primary rivals, maintaining double-digit leads for months.
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