Does a president need to uphold the Constitution? Trump says ‘I don’t know’
Donald Trump Says He Never Swore Oath ‘to Support the Constitution’
The section states a person who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” after taking an oath of office to support the Constitution should be barred from running for office again. In a previous ruling, lower court judge Sarah B. Wallace said that Trump had “engaged in insurrection” on January 6, the day of the Capitol riot, but should remain on Colorado’s primary ballot as the wording of the 14th Amendment does not specifically mention preventing people from running for the presidency.
In their appeal against the Colorado lawsuit, Trump’s lawyers reiterated that the wording of Section Three does not apply to people running for president and that Trump technically did not swear an oath to “support” the Constitution. Instead, during his January 2017 inauguration, Trump swore to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution during his role as president.
“The framers excluded the office of President from Section Three purposefully,” Trump’s legal team wrote. “Section Three does not apply, because the presidency is not an office ‘under the United States,’ the president is not an ‘officer of the United States,’ and President Trump did not take an oath ‘to support the Constitution of the United States.'”
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-oath-support-constitution-colorado-insurrection-1847482
Dictionary Definitions from Oxford Languages
uphold = confirm or support
support
1 : to endure bravely or quietly : bear
2 : to promote the interests or cause of
: to uphold or defend as valid or right : advocate
: to argue or vote for
https://www.jfklibrary.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/The_Presidents_Pledge_Lesson_Plan.pdf
Essential questions: What is a presidential inauguration and why is it important? Why does the
president have to take an oath of office?
Content Goals:
The inauguration is a ceremony that marks the beginning of a new presidential term. It
represents a peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next.
To officially become President of the United States, one makes a promise called an oath
of office.
By taking the oath of office, the new president promises to perform the responsibilities of
the office and uphold the Constitution of the United States, affirming that s/he is not
above the laws that govern the United States.