Thursday briefing: a court rules that Trump cannot hold office
A state court ruled that Trump cannot hold office
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that former President Donald Trump was disqualified from holding office again because he engaged in an insurrection with his actions leading to the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump said he was a would appeal to the US Supreme Court.
The explosive ruling is likely to put an important part of the 2024 presidential election in the hands of America’s highest court.
The ruling is based on a provision of the 14th Amendment, which was written after the Civil War in the 1860s. It prohibits those who have previously taken an oath “to support the Constitution of the United States” from holding office if they “have engaged in any insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
Under the ruling, Trump’s name would be excluded from the state’s Republican primaries. It’s not about the general election.
The Supreme Court has a six-to-three conservative majority, with three justices appointed by Trump himself. While the court has favored a number of staunchly conservative policies, my colleagues write in the Trump on Trial newsletter that the justices are less willing to support Trump’s efforts to bend the presidency in his favor or manipulate the democratic process .
An important detail: Trump could remain on the ballot regardless. Colorado judges have suspended their ruling until January 4 as an appeal is likely to be filed.
What’s next? If the case goes to the Supreme Court, it could take some time for the justices to resolve the case’s many interlocking legal issues. They are expected to rule on other lawsuits involving Trump in the run-up to the election. They may also be reluctant to take away from voters the decision of whether they want Trump as president.
A Hamas leader traveled to Egypt for talks on Gaza
Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ top political leader, was in Cairo yesterday for talks on a possible ceasefire that could lead to the release of Israeli hostages. Israel and Hamas are trying to discuss a new ceasefire through mediators in Egypt and Qatar, and some proposals have been put on the table, an official familiar with the talks said.
Here’s the latest.
An Israeli official said the first steps in negotiations had been taken, but stressed that there is no deal yet. A senior Hamas official said Israel must commit to a new, lasting ceasefire and allow unrestricted aid access to Gaza before Hamas would discuss the release of more hostages. Israel believes 129 people, mostly men, are still being held captive.
Context: Israel has vowed to overthrow Hamas’s rule in Gaza, but recent events have complicated its negotiating position. International calls for a ceasefire have increased, and the accidental killing of three hostages by Israeli soldiers last week has increased domestic pressure to secure a new hostage deal.
At the UN: For the second time in two days, the Security Council postponed a vote on a resolution calling for an end to the fighting. Diplomats said the US requested the pause to allow more time for negotiations.
China is rebuilding a secret nuclear testing base
Satellite images show China is making hundreds of upgrades and expansions to Lop Nur – a military base in a remote desert in the Xinjiang region – where the country first detonated an atomic bomb nearly 60 years ago. The upgrades include a deep vertical shaft that could support larger nuclear tests — the strongest evidence yet that Beijing is considering dry runs for a new generation of nuclear weapons.
Analysts warned that the activity at Lop Nur signals a broad modernization of China’s nuclear establishment, which could accelerate its weapons buildup and fuel a new era of atomic rivalry.
Answer: The Foreign Ministry in Beijing dismissed questions about the base upgrades as “sticking to shadows and baselessly inciting a ‘Chinese nuclear threat’.”
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Maybe you forgot – or wanted to forget – what happened on the internet in 2023. Have you seen the snack plate known as Girl Dinner, Barney’s Makeover or Emily Mariko’s Wedding? If not, we’ve got you covered with our list of the year’s top social media trends.
There is a stir in eggs in China
Wang Gang, one of China’s most popular food bloggers, has made several recipe videos on egg fried rice. But a video posted on November 27, two days after the anniversary of the death of the son of Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China, angered official Chinese media and the Internet. (Mao’s son was killed in the Korean War while, according to legend, cooking fried rice.)
On social media, Wang was called “a traitor” and “the scum of society,” while the former editor of The Global Times, the Communist Party’s tabloid, advised everyone to avoid the topic of fried rice entirely around the anniversary.
That’s it for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow. —Jonathan
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