Trump lashes out at Supreme Court justices, saying his appointees ‘are not the people I interviewed’

By Kevin Liptak, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump upbraided Supreme Court justices as “shells” beholden to “crazed” liberal interests in a lengthy online screed a day after the court blocked his plan to execute dramatic changes to mail-in voting ahead of the midterms.

“These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court, they are merely a shell of their original selves,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.

None of the justices Trump appointed to the court during his first term — Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch or Amy Coney Barrett — noted disagreement with the majority opinion blocking the mail-voting changes.

Two justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, said they would have allowed the rules to go into place.

Trump, furious at the decision, decried a number of other rulings handed down by the court that blocked aspects of his agenda. That includes rejections of his plans to limit birthright citizenship and enact sweeping tariffs.

He said the court was “costing the United States Trillions of Dollars with shockingly bad rulings that are of such magnitude that it won’t be easily possible for our Country to recover or heal.”

“It is a Court that will go down as having rendered some of the most destructive, hurtful, and damaging decisions in our Country’s history,” he wrote. “It is not easy for me to write this criticism of the United States Supreme Court – it will likely cost me dearly for years to come – but I feel it my obligation and duty, as President, to do so for the America we love!”

The Supreme Court did not respond to a request for comment on Trump’s post.

Later Tuesday, Attorney General Todd Blanche said the administration would comply with the latest Supreme Court order, though didn’t rule out trying to pursue changes to mail voting in the years before the 2028 presidential election.

“President Trump’s efforts to make sure that we have free and fair elections are not going to stop just in November or after or thereafter. So I expect you’re going to see that work continue,” he said.

Blanche defended Trump’s harsh criticism of the justices, describing the president as “very frustrated” by the ruling.

“He has every right, and indeed he should communicate his concerns with the Supreme Court whenever he has them. This isn’t the first time that he’s done it, and it won’t be the last,” Blanche said.

Despite Trump’s protestations, the Supreme Court has handed him significant wins, including a 2024 ruling that found presidents have broad criminal immunity for official acts.

The court also recently allowed construction to continue on Trump’s White House ballroom project after preservationists sued to have the work halted.

Still, Trump has grown disillusioned with the conservative justices he appointed that have not ruled in his favor during his second term.

“The Supreme Court has really let our Country down!” he wrote Tuesday. “Certain Justices are petrified of these crazed and depraved Democrats, and are totally unable to show the courage necessary to save our America.”

By comparison, he praised Alito and Thomas — the two most reliable votes for upholding his agenda — as “legends.”

The-CNN-Wire
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