OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.
President Trump is running a victory lap on social media after a federal judge overturned a California state law preventing him from being a presidential candidate on voter ballots.
The president called the decision a “VICTORY” and criticized those pushing the bill, including California Governor Gavin Newson, as “radical.”
“I won the right to be a presidential candidate in California, in a major Court decision handed down yesterday,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. “It was filed against me by the Radical Left Governor of that State to tremendous Media hoopla. The VICTORY, however, was barely covered by the Fake News. No surprise!”
I won the right to be a presidential candidate in California, in a major Court decision handed down yesterday. It was filed against me by the Radical Left Governor of that State to tremendous Media hoopla. The VICTORY, however, was barely covered by the Fake News. No surprise!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2019
According to a report from Daily Wire, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla is seeking to challenge and overturn the ruling.
“California will appeal this ruling and we will continue to make our thorough, thoughtful argument for stronger financial disclosure requirements for presidential and gubernatorial candidates,” Padilla reportedly said. “Our elected leaders have a legal and moral obligation to be transparent with voters about potential conflicts of interest. This law is fundamental to preserving and protecting American democracy.”
The Daily Wire adds:
Newsom signed Senate Bill 27, the so-called “Presidential Tax Transparency and Accountability Act,” into law in July. The law would have required all primary candidates to turn over their most recent five years of tax returns by the November deadline in order to appear on the primary ballot. The law did not apply to the general election. The bill reads in part:
This bill would enact the Presidential Tax Transparency and Accountability Act, which would require a candidate for President, in order to have the candidate’s name placed upon a primary election ballot, to file the candidate’s income tax returns for the 5 most recent taxable years with the Secretary of State, as specified. The act would require the Secretary of State, within 5 days of receiving the returns, to make redacted versions of the returns available to the public on the Secretary of State’s internet website. This bill would impose the same requirements on candidates for Governor.
Trump’s legal team filed a lawsuit against the bill in August maintaining that the law unconstitutionally added additional requirements for presidential candidates and potentially violated voters’ First Amendment rights.
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