There’s Another Way Trump Could Get Immunity
Plus: The Courts’ Responsibility—and Ours
Recently in The Bulwark:
BILL KRISTOL & ANDREW EGGER: Will Nikki Burn the Boats?
MARC CAPUTO: The One Weird Trick Trump Could Use to Get Away with January 6
JOE PERTICONE: Snoozer Tuesday: The Real Action Is Down Ballot
You can support The Bulwark by subscribing to Bulwark+ or just by sharing this newsletter with someone you think would value it.
MONA CHAREN: There’s Another Way Trump Could Get Immunity
SPEAKING JUST AFTER THE SUPREME COURT issued a per curiam ruling that Colorado may not remove him from the presidential ballot, Trump took a victory lap proclaiming himself “honored” by the unanimous vote. Apparently interpreting the Court’s action as a personal vote of confidence, he pushed his luck, urging the justices to rule swiftly that he has absolute immunity as well.
ANDREW EGGER: How Donald Trump Is Hiding in Plain Sight.
DONALD TRUMP’S (FIRST?) PRESIDENTIAL TERM was a big time online for mantras.
“A complete and total shutdown until we can figure out what’s going on,” we’d say.
“More and more people are saying.”
“Only the best people.”
And the big one: “There’s always a tweet.”
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Catherine Rampell: Trump Would Be Bad News for the Economy [Ad-Free🔐]
Trump Trials Deep Dive! SCOTUS Takes on Trump's Immunity Claims! (w/ Ben Wittes)
Tim's Take: Trump Family's RNC Takeover Starts with Purge of Normies and Skeptics
Just Between Us: Lame Ponies 🔐
Thursday Night Bulwark: There is no Thursday Night Bulwark this week due to the SOTU.
Did you know? Bulwark+ members can listen to an ad-free version of these podcasts on the player of their choice.
Learn more at Bulwark+ Podcast FAQ.
ADAM J. WHITE: The Courts’ Responsibility—and Ours
THROUGHOUT THE LITIGATION around Donald Trump’s possible disqualification from the presidential election, his critics seemed to presume that the Fourteenth Amendment question would be settled by the Supreme Court—or not at all.
I alluded to this in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Tuesday, after the Court’s decision in Trump v. Anderson. The Court concluded that state governments cannot unilaterally disqualify a president under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Disqualification Clause, because such decisions can only be made by federal laws enacted by Congress implementing that amendment. And the Court’s analysis seems to foreclose other gambits to delete Trump from the ballot either before or after Election Day—through ad hoc lawsuits in federal court, or by members of Congress attempting to nullify electoral votes for Trump on January 6, 2025.
Absent an actual prosecution and conviction of Trump for insurrection, I wrote, “only the voters can keep him out of office.”
WILL SALETAN: Nikki Haley Raises the Big Questions About Jan. 6th.
NIKKI HALEY IS FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGING the most important reason to defeat Donald Trump in this year’s election: his use of violence on January 6th to block the peaceful transfer of power.
In an interview that aired Sunday on Meet the Press, moderator Kristen Welker asked Haley whether she agreed with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that Trump was “practically and morally responsible” for the attack on the Capitol. Haley replied that Trump’s offense was…
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Super Tuesday! My neighbor the Presidential candidate did not make it onto my ballot. In my newsletter inbox—one just for newsletters!—I got an email from one of the Friars at my Franciscan parish with the subject line: “The Bulwark.” No, it was not about us, but a valuable lesson for the day:
"Forgiving seventy-seven times is not moral accounting. It is choosing to be a bulwark against evil in the world." I struggle with forgiveness, but it’s worth thinking about every day, and especially today.
The MAGA model… for returning to power and dismantling democracy. (Amanda Carpenter / IfYouCanKeepIt)
At the alma mater… A new poll showing a majority of Missouri Voters Want to Say Goodbye to Switching Their Clocks.
Arizona is now a two person race… With Sen. Sinema dropping out. (Whoever controls Congress next, the filibuster is probably dead.)
Checking in on DearWhiteStaffers… A group I covered two years ago in these pages. JewishInsider reports that the person behind the account has been identified, given recent posts some considered to be anti-Israel and anti-Semitic.
Look at Brian Kilmeade’s wrist… This isn’t #watchcontent, I promise. It’s cringe performance art.
Tech support questions? Email members@thebulwark.com. Questions for me? Respond to this message
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.
