Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg tore into Donald Trump this week in comments that even many on the left have described as crossing a line for a justice, and something that could have legal ramifications should Trump become president. In response, Trump blasted Ginsburg and called for her to resign.
Ginsburg has now repeatedly publicly disparaged Trump, something that has shocked political analysts, who question not only the decorum but the legal fallout of such actions by a Supreme Court justice. In an interview with The New York Times published Sunday, Ginsburg said she couldn’t “imagine” a world where Trump was president, suggesting he would hurt the country — and the court.
“I can’t imagine what this place would be — I can’t imagine what the country would be — with Donald Trump as our president,” she said. “For the country, it could be four years. For the court, it could be — I don’t even want to contemplate that.” She also joked that she would move to New Zealand should he win.
Monday, the justice escalated her anti-Trump rhetoric, calling him a “faker,” an egomaniac, and suggesting that he was hiding something scandalous in his unreleased tax returns. “He is a faker,” she said. “He has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment. He really has an ego. … How has he gotten away with not turning over his tax returns? The press seems to be very gentle with him on that.”
In a telephone interview with the New York Times Tuesday, Trump called Justice Ginsburg’s remarks about him “a disgrace to the court” and demanded she apologize to her fellow justices for embarrassing them.
“I think it’s highly inappropriate that a United States Supreme Court judge gets involved in a political campaign, frankly,” Trump told the New York Times. “I think it’s a disgrace to the court, and I think she should apologize to the court. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it.” Ginsburg, added Trump, should “get off the court as soon as possible.”
Wednesday, Trump ratcheted up his criticism, questioning Ginsburg’s mental fitness for the job and calling for her resignation. “Justice Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot – resign!” he tweeted.