Can Trump Legally Be President?

Last August, University of Chicago Law School constitutional law professor William Baude helped ignite a national debate by co-authoring a law review article, The Sweep and Force of Section Three, which argued that former President Trump was barred by Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment from holding office again. As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments on Feb. 8 in the Colorado case banning Trump from the primary ballot, Baude offers his only extended interview on the subject in a timely new episode of UChicago’s Big Brains podcast.

The Big Brains podcast and full transcript of the Baude interview are now live at the UChicago News website. The questions covered include: 

• What are the possible outcomes of the Supreme Court case?
• Could a “catastrophic” scenario leave the eligibility question outcome uncertain until Jan. 6, 2025?
• What convinced Baude, a conservative legal scholar and member of the Federalist Society, that the 14^th Amendment bars Trump from taking office?

Media may pull audio and quotes from the podcast and use with attribution to UChicago’s Big Brains podcast and a link to the podcast page. 

For radio, online news and other podcasts: For easy access, here are several brief clips of the William Baude interview that you may use with citation:

Defining “insurrection” – Baude explains his originalist view of the 14^th Amendment, noting that insurrection was originally understood to include legislators who provided “abstract support” for the Civil War.

AUDIO LINK  :15 seconds

Baude explains the role that Congress may have to play in January 2025 if the Supreme Court leaves the outcome uncertain – “If the Court doesn’t resolve [this case] definitively, it may be leaving the door open to a very, very stressful January 2025.”

AUDIO LINK  :33 seconds

If the Supreme Court ends up having to step in again in January 2025, “it could be quite a crisis.”

AUDIO LINK – :09 seconds

Baude hopes the Supreme Court agrees with his legal argument and concludes that “like it or not, this is where the Constitution takes us.”

AUDIO LINK – :08 seconds

For more information, contact Rick Melcher ([email protected]) or Anne Tucker ([email protected]).