Decision to exclude The Donald opens a ‘Pandora’s box’

The former president remains the front-running Republican to challenge Joe Biden in next year’s presidential election.

Fellow Republicans jumped to Donald Trump’s defence, including his rival for the nomination and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Picture: AFP

The decision booting Donald Trump from the primary ballot in Maine comes as the former president remains the front-running Republican candidate to challenge Joe Biden in next year’s presidential election.

The two are neck-and-neck in polls, and Mr Biden has stepped up his attacks on his predecessor in recent weeks, saying Mr Trump “certainly supported an insurrection. No question about it, none, zero.”

Mr Biden recently told a campaign reception that “the greatest threat Trump poses is to our democracy. Because if we lose, we lose everything.” He described Mr Trump as “sitting there, watching it unfold on TV as a mob attacked the Capitol” in the assault by his supporters on January 6, 2021, aimed at overturning Mr Trump’s loss to Mr Biden. The former president continues to claim, without proof, that he is the rightful winner of the 2020 vote.

He is scheduled to go on trial in Washington in March for conspiring to overturn the results of the election, and also faces racketeering charges in Georgia for allegedly conspiring to up-end the election results in the southern state after his defeat.

Maine and Colorado hold their nominating contests on March 5 – “Super Tuesday” – when voters in more than a dozen states, including populous California and Texas, go to the polls.

Fellow Republicans jumped to Mr Trump’s defence, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who is also seeking the party’s nomination. “It opens up Pandora’s box. Can you have a Republican Secretary of State disqualify Biden from the ballot?” he said.

AFP