Russia State TV Mocks US After Trump Kicked Off Ballot

The United States was mocked as a “banana republic” on Russian state television following the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to bar former President Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential election ballot.

Trump was kicked off the ballot on Tuesday after a majority of justices ruled that the former president was ineligible due to a clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment that prohibits public officials who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or gave “aid or comfort” to enemies from ever holding office again.

The decision enraged MAGA Republicans and prompted speculation that other states could follow suit and entirely eliminate any chance of the former president returning to the White House. However, Trump quickly vowed to appeal, and the matter will ultimately be decided by the conservative-dominated U.S. Supreme Court.

Russia-1 anchor Olga Skabeyeva, who has been called the “Iron Doll of Putin TV” due to a reputation for pushing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s propaganda, reacted in a broadcast on Wednesday by claiming that the ruling was evidence that “the U.S. is becoming more and more like a banana republic,” according to BBC journalist Francis Scarr.

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s office via email for comment on Wednesday.

Skabeyeva’s choice of the phrase “banana republic” echoes similar comments about the U.S. by Trump and his associates and allies outraged by the former president facing legal issues as he seeks to regain the presidency.

The Russia-1 anchor has indicated her support for Trump in several past broadcasts. A Russian 60 Minutes episode on the ex-president, hosted by Skabeyeva last year, was titled “Persecution of America’s Chief Patriot.”

During a different broadcast, Skabeyeva said that Russia was in the process of deciding “whether to re-install [Trump] again as the American president.” She has also questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 U.S. presidential election while repeating Trump’s unfounded claims that it was riddled with massive fraud.

While the future of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and his status as the GOP nomination frontrunner could be in doubt due to Tuesday’s ruling, the decision could also easily be reversed by the Supreme Court.

Legal scholars have been divided on the validity of using the 14th Amendment to disqualify Trump. Colorado’s ruling cited a previous decision by Trump-appointed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, who argued that Colorado had the right to block a different presidential candidate from the ballot in 2012.

Insurrection is not among the 91 felony criminal counts that the former president has been charged with this year, although some of the charges are related to his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

A 57-43 majority of U.S. senators voted to convict Trump of “incitement of insurrection” at the conclusion of his second impeachment trial. He was acquitted due to the vote falling short of the required two-thirds majority.