When Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), formerly Speaker of the House, was asked whether former President Donald Trump should be on the ballot, she talked on both sides of the issue, blasting Trump as a danger to democracy but stopping short of endorsing the use of the 14th Amendment to strike him in her state, California.

Pelosi was asked on ABC This Week about whether the 14th Amendment clause that bars anyone who participated in an "insurrection" from holding elected office disqualifies Trump, she deferred to the states to make their own decisions.

"Up to the states"

"Those laws, those are up to the states. They have different laws from state to state. I don't think he should ever have been president," she said before being pressed about his constitutional eligibility.

"There is a view of the Constitution under Article 14, section 3," she said, flubbing the reference," that he should not be able to run for president."

"But that's not the point," she continued before repeating that state laws are different and noting that California did not think the 14th Amendment applied to whether Trump should be on the ballot.

"What is very clear is that the American people want us to honor our oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," she concluded.

Political calculations

Pelosi's answer was, as always, entirely politically calculated.

California doesn't need Trump to be off the ballot there; in fact, the Democrat-dominated state will probably get more votes for Biden if Trump is his opponent.

But she also knows that if Trump is taken off the ballot in one or more other states where the decision might not be as clear, it could make the difference between him being able to get the 270 electoral votes he needs in 2024 or not.

Maine's four and Colorado's 10 electoral votes could very much be a deciding factor in a close election, so Pelosi definitely wants them to take Trump off the ballot if they can get away with doing so.

The irony

The irony of the situation is that she claims she wants to protect democracy and the Constitution, but taking Trump off the ballot when he is the runaway frontrunner for the GOP nomination guts democracy, denying the will of the voters on dubious grounds.

With the way the left has thrown around the word "insurrection," it's easy to forget that not only has Trump never been convicted of insurrection, he hasn't even been charged with it.

Yet, Maine's secretary of state and Colorado's Supreme Court both feel perfectly comfortable deciding he is guilty of insurrection and unilaterally deciding he can't be on the ballot.

No doubt the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly slap them down before this goes any further.