Why Disqualify Trump?

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, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

When the Fourteenth Amendment was passed by Congress in 1866, “insurrection or rebellion” referred to an assemblage seeking to prevent the implementation of any federal law by force, violence, or intimidation for a public purpose.

An assemblage was simply a group of people with a common purpose. Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment focused on insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution of the United States. To engage in insurrection, the assemblage had to resist federal law by force or intimidation. It did not have to take up arms against the federal government, as the Confederacy had done in the Civil War. The mere threat of violence—not actual violence—was sufficient. The resistance had to be for a public purpose—that is, with the goal of changing governmental policy or practice to benefit the government or its citizens.

For a thorough discussion of these issues, see Mark Graber’s commentary in the Baltimore Sun.

“Aid or comfort” refers to any kind of help, support, assistance, counsel, or encouragement. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits giving aid or comfort to the enemies of the United States Constitution.

Trump disqualified himself from holding office ever again under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment by engaging in the following actions:

• He claimed on December 3, 2022, that “a massive fraud” related to the 2020 election was so serious that it “allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.” Although this statement is, by itself, protected by the First Amendment, it contradicts his inaugural oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” It is also evidence of a lawless mindset that enabled him to justify taking the actions described below, which violate the disqualification clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
• He directed a multi-state conspiracy to submit slates of false electors to the United States Congress.
• He implored and threatened federal and state officials and local election workers to assist in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
• He invited protesters to come to Washington DC on January 6, 2021, urged them to “fight like hell . . . to save our democracy,” and told them to march on the Capitol when Congress was formally counting the 2020 Electoral College votes submitted by the states—which resulted in a violent attack on the U.S Capitol with the aim of preventing Congress from completing its constitutionally mandated  duty to certify the Electoral College votes.
• He gave aid and comfort to the violent mob who had stormed the Capitol by failing to take any action to stop the attack for more than three hours and then issuing a video in which he told the attackers, “We love you. You’re very special.”

In a democracy, ultimate authority and decision-making are vested in the citizens, who express their preferences either indirectly through elected representatives or directly through plebiscites and ballot measures. Yet the "will of the people" does not reign unchecked. A thriving democracy safeguards the rights and interests of minorities against the tyranny of the majority and, at the same time, it safeguards the rights and interests of the majority against the tyranny of a minority. It maintains this balance through institutional mechanisms that include constitutional protections and the rule of law.  

Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution disqualifies from holding office any government official who has taken an oath to support the Constitution and subsequently "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the Constitution or "given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."

Trump multi-pronged effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election disqualifies him under the Fourteenth Amendment from ever holding elected office again. It will therefore be unconstitutional to offer voters the choice of voting for him. He would be no different from a presidential hopeful who does not meet the age requirement specified in Article II of the Constitution of being at least 35 years old.

The "will of the people" should not supersede the orderly functioning of government under the guidance and restraint of the Constitution.