WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s campaign knocked former President Donald Trump on the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack for refusing to sign an Illinois loyalty oath that says he won’t advocate to overthrow the government.
The WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday that Trump did not voluntarily sign the loyalty oath this year when he and his campaign registered for the primary ballot in Illinois. The former president signed the oath in 2016 and 2020.
Candidates who sign the oath – including Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – attest that they “do not directly or indirectly teach or advocate the overthrow of the government of the United States or of this state or any unlawful change in the form of the governments thereof by force or any unlawful means.”
It also requires candidates to attest that they do not support communism or affiliate with communist organizations. The oath is “a vestige of the red-baiting era of the former U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s,” according to WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times.
“Donald Trump can’t bring himself to sign a piece of paper saying he won’t attempt a coup to overthrow our government,” said Michael Tyler, communications director for the Biden campaign, in a statement Saturday. “We know he’s deadly serious, because three years ago today he tried and failed to do exactly that.”
Former President Donald Trump addresses the audience during a campaign event Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, at the DMACC Conference Center in Newton.
Trump faces a federal criminal indictment for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The former president and 18 of his allies also face an indictment in Georgia for allegedly conspiring to change the outcome of the 2020 election and violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, Act.
The Trump campaign did not explain why the candidate did not sign the oath, but instead issued a statement predicting the former president would defeat Biden at the polls.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump didn’t sign Illinois oath not to advocate government overthrow
Trump is the very last person who should be considered being the President of the United States. A horrible human being, a rotten president, a lousy husband, a terrible businessman, you name it and he’s failed it.