The US president has stated that he regrets nominating three justices to the Supreme Court. He said this in an interview with Time magazine on Monday, according to a transcript of the interview.
The justices in question are Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh, whom Trump appointed during his first term. The journalist asked directly if he regretted nominating them, alluding to Trump's posts on his social media platform, Truth Social. According to the transcript, Trump replied: 'Yes. Yes.'
He further stated that the justices had opposed him in recent rulings. 'What can I do? I appointed them. They overrule me too often. I gave them a lifetime appointment, yet they often vote against me,' Trump said. His appointments had created a conservative majority on the court, six to three, and the court had shifted sharply to the right since 2020.
Trump said during the interview: 'I love loyalty, yes.' When asked if that was what he wanted from the justices, he clarified: 'No, I do not want loyalty. I want good decisions.' He added that his nominees were behaving differently during the job interview.
On the social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote: 'These are not the people I spoke to for the job at the Supreme Court, they are just a shadow of what they once were.' He directed specific criticism at Gorsuch and Barrett.
The highest court in the land refused to allow a rule that would restrict the use of mail-in ballots in the November midterms. The court had previously, in February, struck down his global tariffs, ruling that they had been imposed illegally by invoking emergency powers. Gorsuch and Barrett were in the majority in that decision, delivered in a six-to-three vote.
