It is hard to imagine that Donald Trump could be elected president in 2024. Yet, by all accounts, it is a distinct possibility. The reason defies comprehension. Trump and his conspirators broke the law; the evidence is very clear. But legal maneuvering will likely postpone what should be a foregone conclusion: finding those who broke the law guilty and sentenced in accordance with their egregious acts. Worse, it may be a precursor to democracy’s catastrophic collapse. For there are no substantive precedents, federal or constitutional, that definitively settle matters such as whether an indicted or convicted individual can occupy the oval office, only untested legal arguments based on authoritative sources such as the 14th Amendment, which expressly excludes from future office anyone who has taken an oath to defend the Constitution and subsequently engages “in insurrection or rebellion . . . or give[s] aid or comfort to the enemies” of the government. This murky void leaves the country in a quandary.
Time is on the side of lawless, tyrannical individuals who are happy to trample American democracy. And the Supreme Court, occupied by a few rapscallions who have not lived up to the institution’s vaunted tradition by flaunting well established ethical standards, could end up reversing our precedented democratic run. The possibility is far too real. Still, there is hope as long as 2020’s referendum–the spectacular finish that overcame a deranged coup attempt–has the stamina to outlast the procedural challenges of Trump and his unconscionable enablers.