Trump heralds SCOTUS ballot ban ruling, looks ahead to immunity fight

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday -- in a 9-0 vote -- ruled in favor of former President Donald Trump in finding that Colorado's decision to remove him from the primary ballot was unconstitutional. As Fox News reports, reactions have been pouring in ever since, including from the man himself.

According to the U.K. Independent, almost immediately after the court's determination was handed down, Trump delivered remarks from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

“I want to start by thanking the Supreme Court for its unanimous decision today,” Trump began.

He continued, “It was a very important decision, very well crafted. I think it will go a long way toward bringing our country together, which our country needs.”

While noting his satisfaction with the ruling, the former president also theorized about the motivations behind the ballot removal initiatives launched in multiple states in recent months.

“While most states were thrilled to have me, there were some that didn't,” Trump said. “And they didn't want that for political reasons.”

His comments from Mar-a-Lago were not Trump's only public response to the high court's decision, as he also took to his Truth Social platform to declare it a “Big win for America!!!”

Trump was not the only one praising the justices' ruling in its immediate aftermath, with constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley joining the celebratory chorus.

“The court showed a divided nation that we remain bound by shared constitutional values,” Turley said.

The Fox News contributor went on to add, “After all of the years we have spent in this Republic we came to a point where these states claimed that they could unilaterally bar the leading presidential candidate from ballots to prevent people from voting for Donald Trump.”

“The court here struck with a strong, and it appears unanimous, voice, at least on the result that that's not going to happen. Voters will vote. They'll make their own verdict regardless of cases that happen involving president Trump. They will cast the most important verdict of all. They will vote for the next president of the United States,” Turley declared.

It soon became evident, however, that the current GOP front-runner, while pleased with the outcome in the ballot controversy, is looking ahead to the next major battleground at the Supreme Court, namely, his claim of presidential immunity in the federal election interference case overseen by special counsel Jack Smith.

In comments made to Fox News Digital, Trump lauded the ballot ruling as “both unifying and inspirational,” as The Hill noted, and he expressed his hope that he would receive a similarly positive result from the panel on the immunity question.

Speaking to what he believes is at stake in the latter case, Trump said, “No president would be able to properly and effectively function without complete and total immunity. Our country would be put at great risk,” but with some legal observers suggesting that he stands a far lower chance of success on this question than he did on the ballot ban, his fears may ultimately be realized.