Betrayal in the Supreme Court? Trump Lashes Out Against the Judges He Himself Chose!

According to multiple sources familiar with the conversations, former President Donald Trump has privately expressed dissatisfaction with the Supreme Court justices he appointed, feeling that they have not consistently supported his agenda. One source specifically mentioned that Justice Amy Coney Barrett, his most recent appointee, has been the target of particular frustration.

These behind-the-scenes complaints have reportedly been ongoing for at least a year and have also included concerns about Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, according to the sources. Trump’s anger has allegedly been fueled by allies on the right who have privately told him that Barrett is “weak” and that her rulings have not aligned with her presentation before her nomination in 2020.

A senior administration official told CNN that Trump’s complaints span multiple instances, not just a single ruling. In response to inquiries about the president’s views, principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields stated that “President Trump will always stand with the U.S. Supreme Court,” while contrasting this with the Democratic Party’s past consideration of court packing. Fields acknowledged that the President might disagree with specific rulings but would always respect the Court’s foundational role.

The complaints about Barrett appear to stem from several high-profile cases. In March, many conservatives were reportedly upset when Barrett joined the court’s liberals in rejecting Trump’s plan to freeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid. This decision led to swift backlash from some of Trump’s allies, with one conservative legal commentator describing her in harsh terms.

Before the inauguration in January, Barrett also joined Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three liberals in a decision that allowed Trump to be sentenced in his New York hush money case. Although Trump publicly dismissed this as a “fair decision” at the time, sources suggest private frustration.

More recently, Trump’s allies expressed anger when Barrett recused herself in a Supreme Court case regarding taxpayer funding for a Catholic charter school in Oklahoma. The 4-4 split that resulted from her recusal left in place a ruling against the school. Some conservatives, like Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network, publicly questioned if her recusal went beyond her duty and could set a problematic precedent.

Interestingly, some of Trump’s allies have reportedly speculated privately that Barrett’s rulings might be influenced by threats and menacing behavior directed at her family, including a bomb threat at her sister’s home in March. Sources indicated that Trump has even inquired about whether Barrett needs increased security, suggesting this might make her more comfortable in her role.

Despite his private displeasure, a source close to Trump stated that he does not intend to publicly attack Justice Barrett. Following the foreign aid vote in March, Trump publicly called her a “very good woman” and “very smart,” downplaying any knowledge of attacks against her. A senior White House official told CNN that Trump genuinely respects the Supreme Court and does not want to “torch” his appointees publicly, though he has called on the justices as a group to “rein in the lower courts and do the right thing.”

The article also points out that despite the criticism from the right, Barrett has largely been a reliable conservative vote on the Supreme Court. She sided with conservative outcomes in cases involving transgender service members, deportation protections, and independent agency board members. Data indicates she voted with Justices Thomas and Alito, considered the court’s most conservative members, over 80% of the time in the last term.

The article concludes by noting that while Barrett’s recusal in the Catholic school case was a factor in the outcome, the 4-4 split suggests that another conservative justice likely sided with the liberals in that instance. It also highlights that Barrett can at times break with the more rigid conservativism of Thomas and Alito, citing her questioning during the arguments on Trump’s presidential immunity case as an example.