Donald Trump, former president and front-runner for the Republican Party nomination, could be trading the Oval Office for a jail cell. Facing four criminal indictments and a total of 91 felony counts, Trump’s eligibility for president is questionable. To allow a convicted felon to run for the highest-ranking public office in the country is an attack on the American people’s political judgment and integrity.
Looking closely at Trump’s four criminal indictments, it is bewildering to think that some Americans and politicians would consider Trump as their top choice for 2024. In 2016, Trump was charged with filing hush money payments to an adult film star. Then comes the series of 2020 election interference cases. In August 2022, the FBI found about 100 classified documents in his home at Mar-a-Lago. As further evidence, a recording caught Trump speaking directly about holding secret documents that he did not classify. Next, there is special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election by exploiting the chaos on Jan. 6, 2021, in hopes of stopping the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory by lawmakers.
Additionally, there is the infamous phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the Georgian Secretary of State, with Trump demanding Raffensperger to find the missing 11,000 votes to overturn his defeat. The most recent is the Fulton County indictment, where Trump and 18 others were charged for allegedly overturning the 2020 election. Trump has pleaded guilty in all four cases, perhaps to avoid feeding into any distractions that could potentially harm his 2024 campaign. A candidate with such a lengthy criminal history would be incapable of upholding moral values and the Constitution.
In some parts of the country, the American people have raised their voices in challenging candidates’ eligibility for office by taking them to court. In Minnesota, a liberal group successfully went to court over removing Trump from the 2024 ballot. The “insurrectionist ban” of the 14th Amendment is the best choice for blocking Trump from appearing on the 2024 ballot. According to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, any oath-taken American official is disqualified from holding future office if they have “engaged in the insurrection of rebellion” or have “given aid or comfort” to insurrectionists. Guilty Trump holds both of these cards, looking back on his behavior from the Jan. 6 attack. Unfortunately, the Constitution does not explicitly say a convicted person cannot run for office, and attempts to use Section 3 of the 14th Amendment have never been tested. Congress should listen to the American people and their right to challenge a candidate’s eligibility for office, for we must honor the election’s outcome and do so with integrity. A future where Americans take their vote less seriously due to unqualified candidates may loom should Trump win with his current status under conviction. Not to mention, the average citizen’s trust in government is sacred to any campaigner, and once it is tarnished, it is hard to earn back. A convicted felon as president would be to silence the voices of Americans and dishonor the oath to uphold the Constitution.
As a consequence of their crimes, ordinary convicted citizens do not have suffrage rights. A convicted felon’s permanent records make finding employment, buying a home, and other normal endeavors difficult. If a regular convicted felon cannot even vote, why should they have the ability to run for president, a much heavier responsibility? The morality of this answer lies in the fact that convicted felons should not have this privilege because the restrictions on convicted felons are enforced to protect society and the definition of justice. A president in power standing before a personal criminal history is no exception to the protection of society.
The qualifications to run for president are listed in Article II of the Constitution. A candidate must be a natural-born citizen of the U.S., have been a resident for 14 years and be 35 years or older. That’s it. So, as long as one has these requirements that most Americans have already, any person is eligible to run for office. Even those with criminal backgrounds and 91 felony counts can be president. The solution to this depravity? Amending the Constitution can prevent future convicted felons similar to Trump from achieving the presidency. However, the amendment process is long and tedious. Both houses of Congress would have to propose the amendment, and state legislatures would have to follow up with ratification.
The “what ifs” of Trump winning back the office are not kind to the imagination. In his previous presidency, a commonly used weapon in Trump’s arsenal was the pardoning power. No president has ever attempted to self-pardon, nor does the Constitution forbid it. In the classified documents case, a re-elected Trump could call on the Justice Department and dismiss the case entirely if it is still pending at the time. As for his other federal and state cases, he will find the power to dismiss them and any other related party member as if nothing ever happened. This scenario is a real possibility in 2024 and an alarming one that may tarnish what it means to have a democracy. Should Trump come to power again, the integrity and respect we have for the president will forever be tainted with crimes and lies. The American people need an honest leader, not a crook. Convicted felons should not have the privilege of holding the presidency, for it is a crime against democracy itself.
Abigail Smith, FCRH ’27, is an English major from Verona, N.J.
