TRUMP'S SECOND TERM COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED

History Must Remember: Trump’s Second Term Could Have Been Prevented

As we navigate the ruinous aftermath of Donald Trump’s second term, one critical truth must not be lost to history: this could have been prevented. In late 2023 and early 2024, we proposed a bold but entirely legal option rooted in the Constitution that, had it been taken, might have altered the trajectory of American democracy.

In multiple published articles, we argued that President Biden had the executive authority to declare Donald Trump ineligible to run for president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. This was not some fanciful wish or partisan stunt. It was a reasoned, constitutionally grounded proposal based on the Executive's responsibility under Article II, Section 3, to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” The 14th Amendment, as part of the Constitution, is one of those laws.

Let history record: Biden had the pen. He had the precedent. And he had the opportunity.

The Supreme Court’s decision in the Colorado case, which effectively greenlit Trump’s candidacy, was flawed. It misinterpreted the executive branch's role in enforcing constitutional provisions and ignored historical examples like enforcing school desegregation in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education or upholding civil rights in the face of opposition. The executive branch's power to act in defense of constitutional principles is well established.

We must remember this missed opportunity because the consequences are now undeniable. Everything we foresaw in 2024 has come to pass: the dismantling of democratic institutions, the consolidation of power under a de facto monarch, and the subjugation of the Constitution to the whims of a man who never believed in its principles.

Presidents like Truman, FDR, or JFK would have had the intestinal fortitude to act. But President Biden, despite the warning signs and legal grounding, hesitated. Perhaps it was fear of political backlash. Perhaps it was faith in institutions that no longer function as intended. Either way, that fork in the road was ignored, and we are now living with the result.

Our writings from that period, including “Why Biden Can Declare Trump Ineligible,” laid out the case entirely. They should not be forgotten. They are not just footnotes in a dark chapter of American history. They are the proof that this didn’t have to happen. That the takeover of our republic wasn’t inevitable. That one act of courage could have changed everything.

History will judge what we did and did not do in our hour of need. Let it also remember what might have been done, and who had the power to do it.

William James Spriggs