Many times, but it does bear repeating today. Survey after survey show that Donald Trumps numbers have risen with each of his four indictments, and the first gop debate, which he skipped, changed nothing as to his hold on the party. Look for deeply at the polls, and you find the reason why. Republicans largely share trumps opinion that the indictments are political. One recent example, the Wall Street Journal earlier this week found that trump is the first choice of 59 of republican primary voters, up 11 since april. His lead over his closest competitor, ron desantis, just keeps rising. Desantis is at 13 nationally, barely ahead of the rest of the field at this point. Why is trump so strong despite being indicted four times . Because republicans largely agree with his claims of election fraud. That same Wall Street Journal story points out this, asked about the indictments of trump, more than 60 of republican primary voters said each was politically motivated, and without merit. Some 78 said trumps actions after the 2020 election were legitimate efforts to ensure an accurate vote. About half or 48 said the indictments made them more likely to vote for trump in 2024. And a new poll from cnn has found that 71 of republicans say biden didnt legitimately win enough votes for the presidency. These views have held for quite some time. A poll from reuters found that 25 of americans blame trumps loss to biden on illegal voting, and yet that same poll found 54 of republicans think the january 6th day was the work of violent left wing protesters trying to make trump look bad. Some more data, in georgia, the only state to bring an election related prosecution against trump where the former president is being charged with election interference under the states rico laws, a majority of likely republican primary voters, they agree with him. This from the Atlanta Journal constitution and the university of georgia, when asked, do you believe there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, 61 say yes. In that same poll, georgia likely republican primary voters were asked if they think politics played a role to indict trump in that decision in the peach state. 84 said yes, politics played a big role. Now two updates. First, an academic conversation has been building as to whether donald trump is barred from running under a constitutional clause that prohibits those who engage in an insurrection or rebellion against the constitution from Holding Higher office. Two Law Professors spent a year looking at the issue and are opining in a forthcoming article at the University Of Pennsylvania that the Pre Collusion does apply. I had a recent guest here making that case. There is, however, a difference of opinion among academics. Among the impediments to the applicability is the question of whether it would apply to a former president and the lack of any judicial finding that trump has engaged in insurrection. In fact, among the 91 counts that trump faces, none are for insurrection or saedition. He was indicted for in siciteme but later acquitted by the senate. Ultimately, such a case might reach the supreme court, but guess who believes the 14th Amendment should not be applied . Brad raffensperger, the georgia secretary of state, yes, the recipient of what trump calls a perfect phone call, as in this so, look, all i want to do is this, i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state. That call was largely the predicate for the prosecution of trump in georgia, and yet writing for the Wall Street Journal this week, raffensperger argued the following, mr. Trump might win the nomination and General Election, or he could lose. The outcomes should be determined by the people who show up to make their preference known in primaries, including georgias on march 12th and the General Election on november 5th, a process that denies voters their chance to be the deciding factor in the nomination and election process would erode the belief in our uniquely american representative democracy. Meanwhile, this week in colorado, a Progressive Group filed a lawsuit to bar trump from appearing on that states primary ballot, the complaint was filed on behalf of six republican and unaffiliated voters called citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington. The secretary of state responded that she welcomed the guidance that the litigation would bring. In most states the secretary of state is the chief Election Official who can decide if a candidate is qualified to run for president in their state. Now colorado isnt the only state where there are active or potential steps to have trump barred from running for office. Trumps lawyers responded yesterday requesting that a judge move the lawsuit to federal court because it cites a federal law, namely the 14th Amendment. So four prosecutions under way that have been to trumps political benefit at least in the short term, now a new challenge looms which might have the same impact. I want to know what you think. Go to my website at smerconish. Com this hour and vote on this weeks Poll Question, about the lawsuit to bar trump from the colorado ballot under the 14th Amendment help or hurt him politically . My next guest is the colorado secretary of state, jenna gris wald, who chairs the association of secretaries of state and has been a critic of former president trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Thank you so much for being here. Brad raffensperger has your job in georgia, he said it would be essentially unamerican to remove trump this way from the ballot. Do you agree with him . Well, not necessarily. So i read brads oped and it does not cite georgia law, it does not get into the constitution itself, and i think its a good political take. But ultimately, if the Constit Constitution Disqualifies the former president , we have to uphold the constitution. So i wouldnt say brad is right or wrong. I would say there are major constitutional questions and also questions of state law. And all of us have different state law that should be considered by a court. You know that much of this conversation springs from a forthcoming Law Review Journal at the University Of Pennsylvania law school. Have you read it, do you agree with the conclusion . Are you of the opinion that donald trump should be precluded because of the 14th Amendment . I am of the opinion that this is a big constitutional question. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment clearly lays out that if someone swears to uphold the constitution and then later engages in insurrection or rebellion or aid or comfort to the enemies of the constitution, they cannot serve in office. You know, this amendment has been applied before, family during reconstruction when hundreds of former confederate soldiers and Office Holders were removed. So there are some big questions. For example, does the Amendment Bar Someone who would be disqualified under it from running for office or just being seated in office . Who gets to make that decision . Theres also questions about how to consider such disqualification under state law. So i am a big proponent of this needs to go and be decided by courts, and thats exactly what is happening in the state of colorado. I hope this litigation gives guidance to myself, but also other secretaries of state across the nation. What if youre called upon to exercise discretion . Youve been very critical of the former president during your victory speech, referencing him stealing the presidency or attempting to do so, the use of conspiracies and lies to incite an insurrection. If it comes down to authority placed in your hands, can you be fair to him . Absolutely. And i think being fair is considering the facts. You know, donald trump did incite an insurrection. He did try to steal the election from the American People. Now, that does not mean that at this Point A Court would determine that that is disqualifying, and in terms of what would i do with discretion, were not quite there. On top of these big state and constitutional questions, theres also a process that has to play out. He has not even submitted his paperwork yet to get onto the ballot in colorado. The Colorado Republican Party has not taken the steps they need to for ballot access. So the question is premature. And what i hope is that a court will resolve some of these big outstanding questions before we get to Ballot Certification in december or excuse me, in january. The paperwork is in december. Understood. Quick final question. You heard my commentary. I think i make a compelling case based on data about how each of the four indictments has been to his benefit politically, and that i anticipate this challenge will do likewise. Whats your thought on that . Honestly, this isnt about the politics for me. My job as secretary of state is to follow colorado law and uphold the u. S. Constitution. I do agree that theres various ways to hold someone accountable. Criminal charges are about personally Holding Trump accountable for his actions in trying to steal the election and all the other actions hes taken. The American Voters also will play a huge role. Theyve rejected this chaos in various elections, 2018, 2020, 2022, and im confident that the American People will once again uphold democracy, safeguard democracy, so that this country continues to be one of a strong democracy going into the future. Thank you so much for being here. We really appreciate it. Thank you. What are your thoughts . Hit me up on social media. Ill get to some throughout the course of the program. From the world of twitter, x, helps him, unless by some miracle all states keep him off the ballot. Magas are going to vote for him regardless. If hes kept off the ballot, theyll have no avenue in which to do so. I think the logical conclusion is that and you heard the polling data. Its stunning. In georgia theres no state in the country that has received as much attention in georgia, and yet the republican likely primary voters in the peach state are lockstep with him in his belief and assertions. So i dont know why the colorado challenge would be viewed any differently from likely republican voters. Thats what im trying to bring out. But i want you to vote at smerconish. Com. The question today, will the lawsuit to bar trump from the colorado ballot under the 14th Amendment help or hurt him politically . Ahead, hurricane lee, just the latest entry into our summer of wild climate dynamics, which includes the hottest temperatures ever recorded. Even if you dont believe in Climate Change or dont live in the hurricane zone, you may still take a serious financial hit as a result of extreme weather. Ill explain in just a moment. Plus, a storm of a different sort, the mediaesque kind sort, following dr. Anthony faucis appearance with me to discuss the rise of covid and whether america will ever mask up again, the fallout was over a study from the Cochran Library that did a wideranging look on the effectiveness of masks, an author of that study, the primary author, is here in just a moment. Hey david. Connect with an advisor to create your personalized plan. Lets find the right investments for your goals okay, great. J. P. Morgan Wealth Management. The allnew tempurpedic breeze makes sleep feel cool. So, no more sweating all night. Or blasting the air conditioning. Because the tempurbreeze feels up to 10 cooler, all night long. For a limited time, save up to 700 on select tempurpedic Adjustable Mattress sets. [baby crying] wherever you go. Wherever you stay. All you need is one key. Earn and use rewards across expedia, hotels. Com, and vrbo. Conquer financial reports. Conquer 2000word essays. Conquer a 6 course menu. Rule over what you write with the smooth writing, longest lasting gel ink pen in america. Do you g2 . Is the issue that will finally force doubters to acknowledge Climate ChangeHomeowners Insurance . Having just started to dig out from hurricane idalia, this weekend were tracking another hurricane, lee. Its too soon to know whether it will directly impact the u. S. Mainland. This summer, the hottest summer ever recorded, and by a significant margin. Both july and august were warmer than preindustrial levels by 1. 5 degrees celsius, breaching a key threshold that scientists have long warned the world must stay below to prevent the catastrophic impacts of Climate Change. Its been a record Wildfire Season in canada, deadly flooding in greece and some not appreciating the relationship between extreme weather and Climate Change, including gop president ial hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy in the recent debate. Let us be honest as republicans, im the only person on the stage who isnt bought and paid for, so i can say this. The Climate Change agenda is a hoax. Whoa, whoa, whoa. We have to declare independence. And the reality is, the anticarbon agenda is the wet blanket on our economy. The reality is more people are dying of bad Climate Change policies than they are of actual Climate Change. Might the free markets actually disagree . Consider florida, where disasters have pushed Homeowners Insurance to four times the national average, with hurricanes, wildfires, floods and tornadoes leveling homes across the country. As my next guest recently reported in the Washington Post under the headline home insurers cut Natural Disasters. Some say extreme weather has led them to end certain coverages, exclude Natural Disaster preks and raise premiums. Its author joins me now. Hes a Business Reporter for the Washington Post. Thank you so much for being here. So despite extreme weather, the scientists and the politicians have not been able to convince some among us of the peril of Climate Change, but this kind of brings it home in a different way, dont you agree . Absolutely. I think thats the key takeaway here. If you dont want to listen to the scientists, thats your prerogative. If you dont like certain politicians, thats your right as an american. But the free market is going to speak to all of us, and thats what were looking at here. Major home insurers saying, hey, our business, this is too risky for us to insure your home against certain Natural Disasters because of Climate Change. Jacob, what coverages are they now going to exclude . What are we talking about . So were not looking at every insurer, but we are looking at five of the biggest ten insurers, allstate, nationwide, american family, berkshire hathaway, and theres another, but were on tv, so here you go. What were looking at is if youre in hurricane country, for example, theyll still sell you a policy in some areas, but theyre not going to sell you coverage that protects you against hurricane damage. So if a pipe bursts in your home, youre insured. If you have a house fire, youre insured. If wind from a hurricane destroys part of your roof, youre out of luck. Wildfire country, a pipe bursts in your home, covered. If you have wind damage or hail damage from a storm, probably covered. If a wildfire burns your home down or theres smoke damage, probably out of luck. Jacob, the rub here is that if im the lender, roif im the mortgage company, im going to insist that you do have that coverage or im not going to underwrite your loan. I want to put something on the screen from your piece. This is for the benefit of people at home who say im not in a high risk area, so i guess i dont have to worry. Insurance markets, you wrote, especially those that serve many regions across the country rely on relatively stable Risk Projections when it comes to Natural Disasters, by balancing wildfire risks in the pacific northwest, with hurricanes in the early fall in the southeast, and Winter Storms in the upper midwest, insurers can spread risks across constituencies, in Theory Providers can collect monthly premiums from a broad clientele without paying out claims on too many large scale disasters at once. The point is, and i remember this discussion in the context of the Affordable Care act, Everybody Needs to be in the pool so that the risk can be spread and dissipated, right . But ultimately were all going to feel the financial impact. You get the final word. Youre right, michael, and this Climate Crisis is coming for all of us one way or another. When we look at home insurance, we live in a country where a broad risk, and so even if im not affected by a disaster, the ec