Donald Trump's Message After Supreme Court Hearing

Donald Trump issued a message on Thursday afternoon following a Supreme Court hearing regarding the former president appearing on Colorado's 2024 ballots.

"I heard, and I watched, and the one thing I'll say is they kept saying about what I said right after the insurrection...which I think was an insurrection caused by Nancy Pelosi," Trump told reporters outside of his Mar-a-Lago residence. "If you take a look at my words right after, take a look at my speech from the Rose Garden...you'll see very beautiful, very heartwarming statements."

Trump continued, "I said peacefully and patriotically...take a look at the statements I made before and after, and you'll see a whole different dialogue."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.

The context:

On Thursday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for a case centered on efforts by voters in Colorado to have Trump removed from the state's 2024 ballots, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The 14th Amendment states that "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state...shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."

The Colorado voters are arguing that Trump engaged in an insurrection in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building as he allegedly attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

What we know:

During the hearing on Thursday, conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said that Trump's removal from Colorado's 2024 ballots was "quite severe."

Last month, lawyers for Trump filed a brief to the Supreme Court saying justices "should put a swift and decisive end to these ballot-disqualification efforts, which threaten to disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans and which promise to unleash chaos and bedlam if other state courts and state officials follow Colorado's lead and exclude the likely Republican presidential nominee from their ballots."

Views:

Last month, Texas Senator Ted Cruz filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, supporting Trump's efforts in the case involving Colorado.

"The radical left consistently does what they claim their opponents are doing. While President Biden and his allies claim they are defending democracy, their supporters are working to undermine democracy by banning Biden's likely general election opponent from appearing on the ballot. The American people see through this, and I'm confident the Supreme Court will as well," Cruz said.

However, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said on MSNBC: "To see Trump continue to lie about his role in the insurrection, to continue to urge that he has endless immunity, that the constitution does not apply to him is incredibly troubling."

"I hope the justices see through his lies and that they uphold a state's right to keep off of our ballot an oath-breaking insurrectionist," Griswold added.

What's next:

Trump will have to wait for a final decision by the Supreme Court on whether his name will remain off of ballots in 2024. His name will appear on ballots in other states across the nation.

Trump is currently facing other legal cases, including two federal indictments by Special Counsel Jack Smith and another election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia. The former president has denied any wrongdoing in all of his cases.

Update 2/8/24, 1:23 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and to note that Newsweek reached out to Trump for comment.

Update 2/8/24, 1:54 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Correction 2/9/24, 9:45 a.m. ET: This article was updated to correct the name of Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold.