Donald Trump's Words Come Back to Haunt Him

A press conference in which Donald Trump suggested there would not be a peaceful transition of power if he lost the election as president came back to bite him in Colorado yesterday.

Trump—ruled ineligible to run in Colorado by the state supreme court—was asked by a reporter during a White House press conference on September 23, 2020, if he would commit to a "peaceful" transition of power were he to lose the election to Joe Biden two months later. Trump responded: "we're going to have to wait and see," before complaining about ballots.

At the time, Trump was lamenting the use of mail-in ballots because of the coronavirus. He added: "There won't be a transfer, frankly, we'll have a continuation."

These words have now been cited in the state supreme court ruling. The ruling read: "When asked at a September 23, 2020 press briefing whether he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power after the election, President Trump refused to do so."

The opinion, not signed, said Trump was not eligible to run for president in the Centennial State and argued the 14th Amendment bans those "engaged in insurrection." The wording does not mention the presidency.

The judges wrote: "We conclude that the foregoing evidence, the great bulk of which was undisputed at trial, established that President Trump engaged in insurrection.

"President Trump's direct and express efforts, over several months, exhorting his supporters to march to the Capitol to prevent what he falsely characterized as an alleged fraud on the people of this country were indisputably overt and voluntary.

"Moreover, the evidence amply showed that President Trump undertook all these actions to aid and further a common unlawful purpose that he himself conceived and set in motion: prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election and stop the peaceful transfer of power."

The 4-3 ruling is now suspended until January 4, pending an appeal by the former president to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said: "The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision

"We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these un-American lawsuits."

Newsweek has approached the Trump team via email for comment.

Several prominent GOP politicians, including Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, have criticized the ruling.

All seven members of the Colorado Supreme Court were appointed by Democrat governors. The court operates on a system of using statewide retention elections to secure their terms.

Six of the seven justices have faced these elections and each were successful. The seventh, Maria Berkenkotter, was elected in 2021 and has not faced a retention election.