Donald Trump has become the first former president in U.S. history to be indicted after earlier this year in New York he was booked for booking keeping fraud after adult actress Stormy Daniels claimed Trump paid her to stay quiet during his 2016 election campaign. Trump’s indictment, while yet to be addressed in court, brings up a question: Can he run for president in 2024? Let’s take a look.
In 1787, when the Constitution was written, a few constraints were put in place in order for one to be president:
- A person must be at least 35 years old.
- A person must be U.S. born.
- A person must live in the U.S. for at least 14 years.
Other than that, the founding fathers had no other limits to becoming president. However, in 1868, when the 14th amendment was ratified, a new constraint to becoming president was put in place: the so-called insurrection clause. The insurrection clause means that any person looking to hold a civil position of power in government, if ever involved in insurrection, will henceforth be disqualified. The “insurrection act” has only been triggered a few times, most notably in 2022, when a New Mexico judge barred a county commissioner from becoming commissioner due to his involvement in the January 6th riots. This landmark case opens the door for new cases of similar instances, which could affect most notably Former President Trump running for president due to his alleged involvement in the January 6th riots and storming of capitol hill. While Trump wasn’t the one rushing the capital, he undoubtedly had some effect in causing the insurrection, as many have suggested, as well as being indicted for conspiracy to defraud U.S. Congress for delaying proceedings on January 6th. However, since he has not been charged in any crimes related to insurrection or what happened on January 6th, he has not violated the insurrection clause, and as such, can still run for president, at least until he is found guilty and a ruling is passed down by a court.
Trump’s four indictments, while interesting, are still indictments, not judgments, and as such, still allow for Former President Trump to run for office in 2024.