Trump calls Supreme Court's 14th Amendment hearing 'a very beautiful process'
Donald Trump emerged in front of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida minutes after Supreme Court arguments concluded in a historic case challenging his ability to hold office again due to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment -- the "insurrection clause" -- over his actions related to Jan. 6 and the 2020 election.
Watching the hearing play out was a "a very beautiful process," he said, speaking with reporters.
"I hope that the democracy of this country will continue," he said, going on to repeat many of his familiar campaign trail criticisms of President Joe Biden and to talk about the alleged "weaponization of politics," which prosecutors and his legal challengers deny.
Multiple justices throughout the hearing had expressed concerns over ballot access and the potentially far-reaching consequences of allowing states to exclude candidates under the 14th Amendment.
Trump, afterward, sounded confident about the work of his legal team, calling their case "very strong."
"I thought the presentation today was a very good one. I think it was well received. I hope it was well received. You have millions of people that are out there wanting to vote, and they happen to want to vote for me or the Republican Party," he said.
While the case has now been officially submitted for consideration, a ruling is not expected imminently.
Pressed about arguments from the challengers' counsel regarding his well-documented initial inaction to quell the violence during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, Trump attempted to stop the reporter mid-question and said the blame was with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"I said peacefully and patriotically. The speech was called peacefully and patriotically. It's peacefully and patriotically," Trump said, referring to a speech he gave on the morning of Jan. 6 near the White House, in which he also said "if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore."
"He said I said bad statements, it was the exact opposite," Trump said on Thursday. "So I think you should take a look at the statements that I made before and after. And you'll see a whole different dialogue."
Trump's Florida remarks came in lieu of him attending the Supreme Court hearing in person, though campaign officials had previously floated the idea that he would, just as he has with some of his other court proceedings. (He denies all wrongdoing.)
But Trump has generally been adamant about going to court, which has caused him to maintain a light campaign schedule compared to his other Republican challengers and even cancel trail appearances to appear at his trials.
However, with the Nevada caucuses taking place Thursday evening, Trump's campaign and legal schedule are colliding once again.
After speaking at Mar-a-Lago, Trump plans to head to Las Vegas for a caucus night watch party.
Trump had used his recent campaign speeches to suggest that the Supreme Court -- which includes three justices that he named -- would side with him in the 14th Amendment case. Some of the liberal-leaning justices also sounded skeptical of the challenge on Thursday.
"All I want is fair," Trump said last month at a campaign stop in Iowa. "I fought really hard to get three very, very good people and they're great people, very smart people. And I just hope that they're going to be fair."
