Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s attempt to justify his ludicrous threat to have President Joe Biden removed from the state’s electoral ballot spiraled into chaos over the most basic of questions: “How so?”
During a Monday interview with CNN’s Boris Sanchez, the Republican was asked how he justified his threats to have Biden removed from the state’s ballot in retaliation for recent attempts to remove Trump from state ballots on grounds that his actions in the aftermath of the 2020 election constitute insurrection. The constitutionality of such a removal will soon be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
“What would then be your justification for removing Joe Biden from the ballot in Missouri. Has he engaged in your mind in some kind of insurrection?” Sanchez asked.
“There have been allegations that he’s engaged in insurrection,” Ashcroft replied. He was then met with the most dreaded predicament amongst grandstanding blowhards: a follow-up question.
“How so?” Sanchez asked, prompting Ashcroft to demand that Sanchez stop interrupting him. “You can’t say something like that and not back it up,” Sanchez countered.
“You interrupted me before I could back it up,” a flustered Ashcroft complained. “Are you scared of the truth?”
Ashcroft went on to say that “there have only been allegations” of insurrection against Biden. When pressed to specify exactly what he was talking about, Ashcroft cited statements from Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who has also threatened to have the president removed from the ballot in his own state, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He still wasn’t able to say what Biden did that could be construed as insurrection.
“If you’re going to make the claim give me some specifics,” Sanchez pressed. “Are you just going to cite the governor of Texas or Florida and not actually say what they’re arguing? Do you know what they’re arguing?”
BORIS SANCHEZ: What would be your justification for removing Joe Biden from the ballot in Missouri?
JAY ASHCROFT: There have been allegations that he’s engaged in insurrection
SANCHEZ: How so?
ASHCROFT: Um, I’ve seen allegations from the lieutenant governor of Texas pic.twitter.com/687uqKyCUw
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 8, 2024
Ashcroft pivoted to pointing out that Colorado and Maine had moved to remove Trump from their ballots despite the former president not yet being convicted of acts of insurrection. Last week, Ashcroft wrote on X, formerly Twitter that while he expects “the Supreme Court to overturn this, if not, Secretaries of State will step in & ensure the new legal standard for @realDonaldTrump applies equally to @JoeBiden!”
The states that have chosen to remove Trump from their ballot did so under allegations that the former president fomented the Jan. 6 certification-day riot that took place in the Capitol and went to great lengths to attempt to undermine the results of his 2020 election loss. By contrast — and as Ashcroft exemplified in his blundered interview — the claim that President Biden has engaged in similar acts holds no water.
More from Rolling Stone
Best of Rolling Stone